Water is becoming dangerously scarce, threatening to leave much of the world dry in the next 20 years, without enough water for a minimum of life (19 litres per person per day). According to a World Bank study, Pakistan is sprinting from a ‘water scarce’ country to becoming a ‘water stressed’ country and within a decade a ‘water famine’ country. Pakistan’s per capita availability of water has declined from 5600 cubic metres in 1947 to 1200 cubic metres in 2005, and now it is quickly approaching the threshold level of 1000 cubic meters.
Our precious water is running out very quickly from our hands. If nothing is done, there would be approximately 18 percent shortfall in irrigation water supply and 1,457 MW in electricity supply, crippling agriculture, industry, business and daily life. Besides domestic mismanagement, our neighbour India is trying to seek the control over waters allocated to Pakistan through IWT-60, by building more large dams (264 are under construction), and river diversions on rivers allocated to Pakistan, so as to cater water requirement for its burgeoning population.
Additionally, the dams would, thus, provide New Delhi leverage to stop the flow of the Chenab and Jhelum rivers at will and strangulate Pakistan’s agriculture. India says that the dam has been built on “run-of-the-water” and as such the amount of water to Pakistan would not reduce. Nonetheless, the International Court of Arbitration (ICA) upheld Pakistan’s stance on Kishanganga dam building controversy on the Neelum River, by granting Pakistan’s appeal to halting India’s construction activities on the western river allocated vide Article III(4) of the Indus Water Treaty–1960.
The water issues can be addressed by sharing the water as a “collective resource” for our future generations. The two neighbouring countries using water as a common resource should co-operate and open up a range of possibilities through optimum development of the rivers by mutual agreement to the fullest possible extent. India, being the upper riparian, should be more accommodating and considerate to the lower riparian nation – Pakistan. Any major upstream alteration in a river system should be negotiated, not imposed as in case of Indian water overtures on rivers Chenab and Jhelum. As the Salal Dam issue was resolved through talks in 1978, given the will, the Krishanganga issue can also be settled amicably in the light of the Indus Water Treaty-1960.
ABDUL MAJEED GONDAL
Gajranwala
We r planning to turn off the tap and there is nothing u can do. I seriously doubt ur army has a pair to cross our border.we Indians believe it is well within our rights to turn of the tap and u should just put up and shut up because we are more superior to u in every way.
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