EVER since the last week of June, the sky over Karachi has been fully covered with clouds. Yet, there has been no rain except for occasional and sporadic drizzle here and there without any effect on the overall weather condition in Karachi.

We need more water than the city’s 20 million population might require for the simple reason that 1) the blessed city’s population is actually more than that (perhaps as much as 25 million ), and 2) the outlying areas, called suburbs, are equally bereft of water like the colossal city itself, thereby severely straining the city’s scant resources.

Have we ever thought of, much less worked on, the ways in which artificial rain can be caused to redeem our sources of water, both subterranean, and the dam which shows its bare bottom every time we visit it every once in a while?

Cloud seeding is an ‘age-old’ method which can be successfully employed to harness those millions of tonnes of clouds to our advantage. There is a point to ponder, though.

Riparian states which benefit from the same clouds besides ourselves might raise objection at any and all forums available to them. Fortunately, there isn’t any such state as would venture to raise such a frivolous claim.

As far as India is concerned it can be safely said without any fear of contradiction that ‘our’ clouds do not benefit, or deprive them in any way, as their rain records for the contiguous area over the past quarter century will amply substantiate. Besides, see what they have been doing to our precious rivers just recently.

Since this is a matter of life and death for our burgeoning populace, practical and immediate steps must be taken to provide our air force the required wherewithal to do their bit to make this part of our dear country green and verdant once again, and bring to us the much needed prosperity.

Thereafter let this be a permanent, well thought-out activity on our part.

Arif Ali Abbasi

Karachi

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2018