ACCORDING to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the recent flash floods, triggered by heavy monsoon rains, have caused heavy losses to both people and crops in the country.

Around one million people have been affected by the flooding while 1.35 million acres of crops have been damaged.

According to media reports, the country has lost standing crops of cotton, rice, sugarcane, livestock and infrastructure worth Rs200 billion due to the ongoing rains and floods.

Besides, the the sweet and fresh water worth billions of rupees has been wasted in the last four months due to the lack of water reservoirs and dams in the country.

If the lost water was saved and used intelligently for agriculture produce and drinking, then it could have helped thousands of poor people to improve their livelihood and increase their purchasing power for food items as well.

In view of the above position, there is a strong need to develop a number of dams in the country to fight against wastage of water, poverty and hunger.

KHAN FARAZ
Peshawar