Spell of torrential rains and snowfall lashed major parts of Balochistan inundating low lying areas in the major cities. It predicted more rain in coming days causing many problems for the people besides it is good news breaking long dry spell, which created drought like situation in province.

Heavy snowfall disrupted normal life and traffic in some areas of northern Balochistan. There are reports about flood in some area while in Quetta and its surrounding rains water flooded many localities.

According to Met Office Quetta received 9 mm Rain. It predicted in coming days of this week.Northern part of Balochistan Ziarat valley received heavy snowfall which started late Saturday and contributed entire day with small interval.

Other cities and towns of northern Balochistan, including, Qila Saifullah,  Muslim Bagh, Kan Mehtarzai, Khanozai, Sanjavi, Khojak pass, Barshor, Toba Achakzai,  Toba Kakari, Qila Abdullah, Gulistan, Pishin and Zhob also received rains and snowfall.

A light downpour became a cause for concern for the people as the tall claims about cleanliness made by the authorities proved to be hollow. On one side were the tall claims of cleaning the drainage system, while on the other the dirty water on the roads had made the life of shop owners and residents miserable. People have demanded of the Metropolitan officials to get the sewerage system cleaned.

Torrential rains and massive snowfall is expected to raise the water table substantially improving water supply to the rain-fed region where tube-wells are used massively to irrigate land or saving orchards from prolonged drought. It is unfortunate that there is no system of water storage and the planners in Pakistan failed to develop water storage facilities or build dams for the past 70 years, barring the two dams one on Hub River to augment the water needs of Karachi instead of a Balochistan specific project and the Mirani Dam which was built on the order of former Army Chief/President General ® Pervez Musharraf.

For the past quarter of a century the Kachhi Canal is still under construction and even the first phase is incomplete. There are reports that there were massive irregularities in construction of Kachhi Canal using sub-standard material in building the Canal for centuries. Thus rains and floods will go down and millions of acres of water of half of Pakistan will go waste and the people are unable to use it.

The projects in Balochistan and particularly the Ankara Kaur Dam Project financed by the Asian Development Bank exclusively to augment drinking water for people of Gwadar and its surrounding localities and human settlements. The faulty design and sub-standard material use in its construction as a result the whole dam collapsed.

If the Dam was de-silted during the dry seasons, there will have been a big improvement in its storage capacity in meeting the demand of the people for a longer time. Water shortage in Gwadar and all along the Mekran Coast had become a perennial problem and the provincial government had failed to address it. We have suggested in these columns that the Balochistan Government should construct more dams to ensuring drinking water supply for the people of Balochistan and specially Gwadar settlements.

According to the British research and findings, there are 360 seasonal rivers flow in the Mekran region ( Pakistani Mekran and not Iranian Mekran) on which small or big water storage facilities can be developed in a modest way beating back drought and natural disasters for longer period.