Sindh wastes most water out of all provinces, Federal Flood Commission Chairperson Ahmed Kamal told media on Saturday.
“Around nine million acre feet of water is used in Sindh while 15MAF to 18MAF is wasted and flows to the sea,” he said.
Kamal said the country is losing its water resources at a faster pace because it doesn’t have enough storage. Pakistan has around 150 reservoirs and dams and Kamal feels that they were managed poorly for decades, which has now intensified the problem.
Five Tarbela dams can be filled if the water we are wasting is stored in them, he said before giving a few tips to overcome the scarcity: Allocate 10% of the Public Sector Development Programme’s budget for water projects. A regulatory authority should be formed in every province that permits people and charge them fee if they want to bore water.
Install telemeters on canals/rivers/streams to measure water levels and charge accordingly. It will curb water theft.
The commission head believes that it’s no less than a crime that we still haven’t adopted the telemeter system. “It’s time for major reforms… if the situation persists, we won’t be able to secure our food.”
He feels we could’ve even benefited from the 2010 floods that killed around 1,700 people and destroyed over a million homes. We had 55 MAF when the flood hit us, but we let it all go to waste, Kamal added.
