Pakistan needs three Mangla-sized dams to conserve the amount of water from wastage
The Indus River System Authority (Irsa) on Thursday warned about looming water crisis in the country and proposed Water Accords with Afghanistan, China and Iran on the pattern of India.
Pakistan dumps water worth approximately $21 billion into the sea each year due to a lack of water conservation systems and lack of storage due to which aggravate food security situation as the country would not be able to produce major crops.
The IRSA Chairman Sher Zaman Khan briefing Senate Forum for Policy Research that due to shortage of water resources made shocking revelations about Pakistan’s lack of water conservation systems and water distribution to provinces.
Sher Zaman Khan said, “Pakistan should give top priority to water reservoirs as water crisis is deepening with each passing day.” “We should sign agreements with immediate neighbours on the lines of Water Accord with India”.
The meeting was presided over by former Chairman Senate Nayyer Hussain Bukhari and other senators including Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Revenue, Haroon Akhtar Khan.
He further said if dams are not constructed on a war footing, in the near future Pakistan will not be able to produce major crops like wheat, rice, sugarcane, cotton and maize due to the acute water shortage.
He added that the country needs three Mangla-sized dams to conserve the amount of water that goes to sea each year as Pakistan faces a 36 per cent shortage in its water requirements at the moment.
According to Sher Zaman Khan about 500,000 tonnes of silt deposits in the Terbela dam and the Mangla dam every day due to which we lost our 12% of water.
Chairman Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) Muhammad Ashraf alos attended the meeting and told that the population is increasing at an alarming rate and is expected to touch 250 million by 2025. This will not only exert pressure on the already dwindling water resources but will also be a challenge for food security.
The meeting informed that monsoon water is the primary source and 80% of water comes from monsoon rains and the rest from other sources.