QUETTA, May 19: The country is facing a serious threat of water shortage which may become dangerous and uncontrolled if proper steps are not taken to deal with this situation.

The chairman of the parliamentary committee on water resources, Senator Nisar Memon, said this while speaking at a meeting of the committee held here on Wednesday.

The committee has forwarded a summary to the Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali about including Rs3.85 billion projects of construction of small dams throughout the country, including Balochistan, during next financial year's Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).

He said that in view of the worsening situation the committee has been entrusted with the task of submitting recommendations to the federal government regarding proper management of water resources, enhancing the storage capacity of current water reservoirs and developing consensus amongst all the four provinces about water distribution formula.

Mr Memon said that currently the committee was holding its meetings with the provincial governments, politicians and all stockholders to prepare recommendations before the end of current financial year.

"Islamabad would plan a national water strategy to cope with the menace of water shortage in view of these recommendations," Mr Memon said, adding that the existing water reserves of the country were depleting rapidly, which needed to be checked to prevent water shortage in future.

He said: "Proper water management is a national challenge which needed to ensure water supply to all Pakistanis for drinking and agriculture purposes besides power generation and industrial usage".

Mr Memon urged the participants to put forward their useful suggestions to the committee so that the recommendations could be compiled in the light of the proposals to ensure protection of their interests.

The other members of the committee who attended the meeting include Senator Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli, Senator Mohammad Naseer Mengal, Members of the National Assembly Sher Akbar Khan, Abdul Qadir Gilani, MPA and former Balochistan Minister Mir Jan Mohammad Jamali, representatives of growers and other concerned officials.