Pakistan 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, Senator Nisar Memon, the chairman of the parliamentary committee on water resources, said at a meeting of the committee held at Quetta on 19 May 2004.
The committee forwarded a summary to the Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali about including US$ 66.6 million worth of projects to construct small dams throughout the country.
In view of the worsening situation, he explained that the committee has been entrusted with the task of submitting recommendations to the federal government regarding proper management of water resources, enhancing storage capacity of current water reservoirs and developing consensus amongst all four provinces about water distribution. "Islamabad would plan a national water strategy to cope with the menace of water shortage in view of these recommendations," Mr. Memon said. Existing water reserves of the country are depleting rapidly. "Proper water management is a national challenge which needs to ensure water supply to all Pakistanis for drinking and agriculture purposes besides power generation and industrial usage," he concluded.
