FPCCI concerned over depleting water resources

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The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Wednesday expressed serious concerns over the depletion and wastage of water resources. The organisation called for a proper water conservation and management strategy before water scarcity becomes a national security threat.

Industrialised nations in Europe have water storage capacity of 90 days but Pakistan, which is an agricultural country, has storage capacity of 30 days which must be increased to one thousand days, said FPCCI President Abdul Rauf Alam.

Talking to the business community, he said that we have the world’s best canal system but up to 50 per cent of water is wasted which is not acceptable. Moreover around 145 million acre feet of water passes through the country. Of this, a major portion is wasted.

He said that per capita water availability which was 5,600 cubic meters in 1947 has reduced to 1,000 cubic meters. The FPCCI president said that the gap between demand and supply will reach one billion cubic meters in a decade.

Therefore, he said, water should be declared a matter of national security to save the country from becoming a desert.

The FPCCI president said that we will have to overcome our differences over water and take steps to conserve it for which education of the farming community is essential.

Abdul Rauf Alam said that Pakistan has glaciers stretched over 13,680 km which will be gone within two decades. Rivers are drying up leaving people with only option i.e., to use ground water which in turn is pushing down the water table.