FAISALABAD: Pakistan is wasting 30 million acre feet (MAF) river water annually by sending it into the sea, causing billions of dollars loss to the country as it could not build any big dam in the last 40 years.

This was a consensus among speakers at a seminar titled “Pakistan water resources” organised by the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) on Friday.

Federal Minister for National Food Security Sikandar Hayat Bosan said the government was making all-out efforts to address water issues that were deepening every year. He said dams were being constructed to meet the demand of increasing population amid fears of decreasing water reservoirs.

Mr Bosan showed his concern that Pakistan had been put into the red zone in per capita water availability index.

“The construction of Kalabagh Dam is the way forward to fight the challenges of the water scarcity that could not materialise due to politics.”

The minister said water efficient irrigation technologies had become need of the hour and they must be promoted.

“The ratio of small farmers has gone up and 95pc of the farming community consists of the small farmers which was 68pc two decades ago,” he added.

Indus River System Authority (Irsa) member Rao Irshad Ali stressed the need for developing dams, saying electricity produced from hydrel cost Rs2.62 per unit, gas Rs7.43, coal Rs12.91, bio-furnace oil Rs17 and the wind electricity Rs11.62 per unit.

He said due to reservoirs sedimentation, Tarbela Dam’s capacity had declined by 35pc, Mangla’s by 16pc and Chashma’s storage capacity had squeezed by 61pc.

UAF Vice Chancellor Dr Iqrar Ahmad said at the time of inception, the water per capita availability was 5,650MAF while it had reduced to 991MAF, ringing the alarm bells of water scarcity.

“We could not construct water reservoirs and we are wasting the water into the sea, etc.”

He said the canal system had brought life to Faisalabad area which was barren a century back.

Hamid Hussain and others also spoke.

Published in Dawn November 5th, 2016