Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan has stressed the need for utilising rainwater to tackle the water shortage issue in the province. The CM stressed “an immediate need for building new dams and devising a better mechanism for provincial canal system”.

However, he noted that these goals could not be achieved without the federal government’s support. Briefing the meeting about the progress on the 100 dams project, the PHE secretary said that around 20 dams have been completed with the allocated fund of Rs2.4 billion and construction on 46 new dams is underway.

He added that Shadi Kor Dam in Makran division has completed and water supply to Pasni has started. According estimates of Wasa, Quetta requires some 200 million gallons of water daily to run routine affairs but it can only manage to provide 100 million gallons and the demand is increasing due to rapid surge in population.

The government installed a large number of tube wells but did not build any dams nor take action against illegal drilling.

The previous government had also showcased an ambitious scheme of providing water to Quetta city from Pat Feeder Canal in 2016 and Kachhi canal through a 271-km long pipeline but that project too never saw the light of the day to provide relief to the people of this mismanaged city despite the fact that the total cost of the project was estimated at Rs40 billion (56 per cent of the then Public Sector Development Plan — Rs 71bn) and it was scheduled for completion in three years.

In the financial year 2016, Rs10bn were earmarked for feasibility report, mobilisation work, consultant fee and land acquisition but what progress was made on that project was never shared with media. Experts have warned that if dams are not built and ground water is not recharged as quickly as required, the province will turn into a desert.

But in Balochistan drought is still reported in major parts of Pakistani and Iranian Balochistan despite rains. Balochistan is comparatively ignored by the Federal Planners to an extent that Gwadar Port city is facing acute water shortage even for drinking and domestic use leaving aside the demand for water for the big industrial and commercial complex.

It is an undeniable fact that there are more prospects for building dams and water storage facilities in Balochistan alone comparing with the other province.

After Mirani Dam, This could be a good decision to building more dams and to provide water storage facilities in any part of Balochistan. Small check dams proved to be failure as they failed to recharge the ground water resources needing constant boring to allow significant seepage of water to subsoil.

Thus we will waste all the money meant for building huge water reservoirs in all parts of Balochistan beating back drought and famine which regularly visit this part of the world with intervals. All the projects of small dam in hands should be converted into water storage facilities for promotion of irrigation,

agriculture and livestock with an idea to make Balochistan food and fruit basket of the entire region. Government should heed to water crisis of this before it slides into an horrible and irreversible situation that the South African country Cape Town. Late last year, the South African government faced the prospect of its largest city running out of water.