QUETTA, Aug 17: Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani said on Tuesday that the entire country was facing water shortage but the problem was becoming critical in Balochistan. Speaking at a seminar, he said the provincial government had decided to form the Balochistan Water Resources Management Authority to handle the crisis.

The seminar was organized by the provincial government in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, "The government is taking measures to cope with the problem," he said. He said the authority would be established without any delay.

He said it would conduct research for increasing underground and surface water resources, management of water use, monitoring and construction of dams, controlling the installation of tube-wells and preparing recommendation for new crop patterns according to the climate and water resources. "If the water crisis is not resolved on scientific basis, all the development in the province will be meaningless," the governor said.