LAHORE: On the occasion of the World Water Day, a ceremony was held on Thursday at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) in which water experts, institutions related to water resources, academia and a large number of civil society members participated.

LCCI Senior Vice President Chaudhry Zafar Mahmood highlighting the worst effects of climate change on Pakistan, said that there is an urgent need for planning to resolve water problems. If timely measures are not taken, a famine situation may arise in Pakistan after a few years.

Former presidents Abdul Basit, Engineer Sohail Lashari, Sindh Basin Water Council Chairman Sulaiman Khan, Engineer MH Siddiqui, Engineer Najam Waheed, Dr Zahid Siddiqui, Dr Shahid Ali, Dr Waseem, Mehdi Atta Ghazali, retired air vice marshal Anwar Mehmood Khan, Zahid Javed Raja, Afzal Goraya, Iftikhar Randhawa, Captain Qadeer, retired Col Ashfaq Hussain, Shahid Karim Mazari, Faisal Arshad, Rana Ameer Muhammad Khan, Rana Shahid, Engineer Mushtaq, Prof Siddiqui and Dr Javed and a large number of civil society members expressed their views.

Engineer Shamsul Mulk and Peer Dr Mehdi Raza Shah, caretaker of the Lal Shehbaz Qalandar, addressed through telephone.

Speakers said that there is no shortage of water resources in Pakistan, but due to disputes between provinces, 30 million acre-feet of water is wasted annually. If this water is put to use, the national economy can increase by 60 billion dollars annually, with which we can clear all our debt in just two to three years.

They said all obstacles in the way of national development projects should be removed.

The course of action should be determined with the cooperation of the experts of the four provinces.

In addition to controlling flood water, there is also a need to implement rainwater conservation practices. Even barren lands can be used with this.

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2023