Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Wednesday said the water situation in Pakistan was becoming alarming as its availability was sharply declining and was likely to aggravate due to climate change impact and rapidly increasing population.
The prime minister said this in his message on World Water Day today (Thursday).
Water is the most precious gift of nature which ensures life on the planet. Recognising the need for preservation and conservation of this valuable resource, the United Nations General Assembly declared March 22 as World Water Day.
“Pakistan lies in the semi-arid region and Indus River System is the major source of water which is fed by the glacial melts. Glacial reserves in the North of the country melt and flow through the country, supplying more than 70 percent of the river flows. This frozen “blue gold” is the country’s most precious reserve and sustain the agro based economy coupled with the unpredictable monsoon rains of the summer,” the prime minister said.
He said the glacial melts and the monsoon rains overlapped in summer periods providing irrigation water on one hand and dangerously raising the risk of flashfloods on the other. “This catastrophe was evident in 2010 floods, which affected 20 million people and damaged over five million acres of farmland. A similar flood repeated itself in Sindh and Balochistan during 2011.”
In his message, President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday stressed the need for sensitising people that water issue was becoming more and more critical because of depleting resources of fresh water and lack of adequate awareness about its conservation and judicious use.
