Punjab CM directs to utilise rain water for multipurpose
Dr Hassan Askari was taking to environment minister Saeedullah Babar.
LAHORE (Web Desk) - Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Dr Hassan Askari Rizvi has directed to utilise rain water for multipurpose.
He said this while talking to provincial Minister for Environment Saeedullah Babar who called on him in Lahore on Monday.
The chief minister stressed the need to create awareness amongst the masses regarding the hazards of wasting water.
Pakistan s water crisis has become increasingly visible in recent months: levels in the largest dams are low; parched irrigation canals mean farmers in the south planted less cotton; and the commercial capital Karachi has long queues at hydrants.
Much of the water used in the country comes from its two largest dams - the Tarbela and the Mangla. Both are managed by the Indus River System Authority (IRSA), a government water management agency.
In March, IRSA said the dams had, for the first time in 15 years, reached the “dead level”: the point at which their water cannot be drained by gravity, and can only be pumped out.
Pakistan’s population is growing at 2.4 per cent annually. Last year it reached 208 million, up from just over 130 million in 1998.
Linked to that, per capita water availability has been on a downward trend for decades. In 1947, when Pakistan was created, the figure stood at about 5,000 cubic meters per person, according to the World Bank. Today it is 1,000 cubic meters.
With inputs from Reuters
