ISLAMABAD: Energy experts have said that development of new water and hydropower projects is the need of the hour to meet the ever-increasing demand of water and energy in the country.
Energy Expert Hanan Mushtaq talking to Media highlighted the importance of building new and mega water reservoirs saying that water will be one of the major issues confronting in near future. He said that construction of Dams would not only resolve country’s water crises but would bring prosperity to the country and provide jobs to thousands of people.
Water levels have gone down considerably in the country and If stringent steps are taken to control the power losses, then there will be a decrease in the energy crisis too, he mentioned. Economist Dr. Noor Fatima said Electricity is a main component in the economic development of any country. In order to convert backward economy into the modern economy, electricity plays a major role.
She explained the government devise efficient policies to overcome energy shortage but the implementation of these policies become a main hurdle. The next government should pay special attention to the construction of new dams and on generating electricity through alternate sources.
The next government should prioritize the improvement of energy mix and use alternate resources for electricity production. Construction of new dams is the need of the time so all the political parties much develop a mutual consensus in this regard, he added.
A relevant piece published earlier: The Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) has warned in its report that the country could be facing a severe drought soon. The council made the alarming forecast which claimed the country touched the “water stress line” in 1990 before crossing the “water scarcity line” in 2005. “Water policy is simply non-existent in Pakistan. Policymakers act like “absentee landlords” over water. Because of this absentee landlordism, water has become the property of the landlords and the poor are deprived of their share,” Shamsul Mulk, former chairman of the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda), said. He also said that there are no proper water storage facilities in the country. “Pakistan hasn’t built new dams since the 1960s. What we see is political bickering over the issue. The authorities need to act now. We can store water for only 30 days, and it is worrisome,” he said. Pakistan has the world’s fourth highest rate of water use but is largely dependent on water from the Indus River basin. (16th September 2017)
