GWADAR/QUETTA: Over half a dozen dams that had been close to drying up due to a prolonged dry spell in the Makran region have now been replenished by the fresh spell of heavy rains lashing the coastal districts of Balochistan, including Gwadar and surrounding areas, which is expected to ease the looming water shortage in the province’s coastal belt.

Officials in Gwadar said that while the torrential rains, which began on Thursday, damaged road networks and inundated residential areas in Gwadar, Pasni, Pishukan, Sarbandar, and Ormara, they also significantly alleviated the region’s water crisis.

Flash floods have filled the Ankara Kur dam, Kanro and Makola dams in Gwadar, according to irrigation department officials. Executive engineer of the public health engineering department Momin Baloch told Dawn the spillways of Ankara, Kanro and Makola dams have been opened to discharge excess water into the sea.

Besides, he said, the Shadi Kur and Be­­lar dams, which received 36,000 and 9,150 acre-feet of water, were nearing full capacity. Also, the Soud, Shanzrani, and Dosi dams have received substantial inflows.

“By Saturday evening, the water level in Mirani dam had reached 243 feet, just one foot short of the level required to open its spillway,” an irrigation official in Turbat said.

Balochistan Irrigation Minister Mir Sadiq Ali Umrani was optimistic that the filling of dams across the Makran region would help resolve water crisis in coming weeks. “The dams are safe, and irrigation engineers and staff on site are closely monitoring the situation,” he added.

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2026