Pakistan is an agrarian country, which strives for many years to count in the list of developed countries. There are three main sectors on which Pakistan’s GDP is based. The main sector is agriculture, which contributes 24% of the total GDP of the country.
Sindh plays a vigorous role in boosting the agriculture sector through proper management and efficient controls. Unfortunately, the current situation in Sindh has been deteriorating due to water unavailability for agriculture. Indus river system authority was established in 1993 but played a pathetic role in allocating the water shares in accordance with the required needs of the respective province.
WARA BANDI system was initiated by the government to meet the demands of needy cultivators but it completely failed due to the bias and nepotism role by management. Under this biased system, political personalities get a huge share of water, by using their political source, for their land but banal and common landlords did not get their sheer right to water.
Nonetheless, water is a basic need to be fulfilled as a priority but the Sindh government does not heed to this serious issue. I noted many families abandon their abode due to such issues and settle at a place, where they earn minimum wage. Khairpur district is famous for dates and some other agricultural products where ALI BAHAR WAAH has been operating for many decades but unfortunately now drought has found it. This is because of a lack of vigilance and monitoring.
Officials are involved in a biased attitude that allows feudal lords to steal water by using lifts and other modern appliances. Furthermore, more than the majority of Sindhi people depend upon agriculture. If the Sindh government has not resolved the issue immediately it would create a gruesome situation that would be unable to halt. IRSA should play a neutral role in allocating water among the provinces. Punjab gets a major part of a water resource every year. In the current situation, It is hard to succumb to the need for water for agriculture but the government should use alternatives to augment the supply by applying modern tactics like water resource system, building more dams to store rainwater, employing competitive people, who have the caliber to cope with demand.
- Water Scarcity in Sindh - 23/08/2021
