APPROXIMATELY 70 per cent of the population of Balochistan has been affected by acute water shortage, and Gwadar has been the worst hit. The Ankara dam was built in 1994 to facilitate a population of 35,000. Since its construction, it has dried up at least four times.

The lack of maintenance has resulted in the loss of half its capacity.

In the last two years, three Chinese-funded dams have been built and two more are under construction as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

However, these dams are not connected to the city yet. Although Gwadar has several beaches, the seawater cannot be used for farming because it is saline and, thus, not appropriate for irrigation. Between 2015 and 2016, a desalination plant provided the city with 1.1 million litres of water against the target of 7.5 million litres.

Currently, there are no operational desalination plants in the city.

Water tankers from the Mirani dam are being used to meet the needs of the citizens of Gwadar.

However, this cannot be a permanent solution to the water scarcity in the area. Time and again, the residents have protested and called upon government officials to resolve the crisis, but all their calls have fallen on deaf ears. The government needs to adopt measures to tackle the water crisis at the earliest.

Hammal Zahid
Tump

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2021