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Losing water war?
By Nazia NazarRecently the talks between India and Pakistan over the Kishanganga project failed when both the countries stuck to their stated positions on the issue. The dispute over India's 330-megawatt Kishanganga hydropower project on River Jhelum centres on the diversion of water from one tributary of the river to another. Under the project water from Neelum River will be diverted through a 47 km tunnel and released in river Jhelum. Pakistan says that the diversion of water to Wullar Lake contravenes the provisions of the Indus Water Treaty, as it will reduce water flow into Pakistan by 27 percent. As a consequence, Pakistan's Neelum Valley could dry up and become a desert. Further, any construction on the Neelum River upstream will affect power generation capacity of Pakistan's Neelam-Jhelum power project in which Pakistan has already invested Rs 71 million. Experts say that the Kishanganga project could reduce Pakistan's total water availability from an estimated 154 MAF to about 140 MAF per year. It would also leave significant portion of the Mangla Dam's storage capacity unutilised. It is also feared that the diversion would result in an ecological disaster for the area. Unfortunately many rounds of talks on the Kishanganga project have ended without producing any fruitful result. This is not the first time that Pakistan and India are locked in a water-related dispute. The water issue between both the countries is as old as partition when canals' headworks were unjustly given to India which enabled it to interfere with the waters of those rivers which are crucial for Pakistan. As a result, only after six months of partition, India stopped the water of rivers Ravi and Satluj, bringing the new-born country to a famine-like situation. Finally, the issue was somewhat resolved in 1960 when both the countries entered into an agreement known as the Indus Basin Water Treaty. According to this treaty, India was entitled to use water of rivers Satluj, Beas and Ravi, while Pakistan was entitled to unrestricted use of rivers Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. Even after this agreement, many water-related issues between the two countries have come to fore from time to time, especially with regard to the construction of some controversial dams by India such as Sallal Dam, Wullar Barrage, Baglihar Dam and now Kishanganga dam. In water-related issues, Pakistan has always been on the losing end. By being engaged in negotiations with Pakistan, India secures sufficient time to continue the unnoticed construction of its controversial dams. For that reason India balks at the indulgence of third party in all water-related issues between both the countries and instead it insists on bilateral talks By constructing one after another controversial dams, India is causing trouble for Pakistan which is already confronting a severe water crisis. Pakistan is an agricultural country; agriculture accounts for one-fourth of its GDP. Over 50 percent labour force is related to agrarian profession. The use of water in agriculture is 93 percent of the total use of water by the country. So water is of paramount importance for Pakistan. The shortage of water means that our future generations may have to face hunger and starvation. It is lamentable that once Pakistan was among the top wheat producing countries of the world but today it has to import wheat to cater the needs of its people. Among many reasons of wheat crisis, shortage of water has left us with a question: are we heading towards disaster? Wheat crop needs plenty of water while in winter wheat crop is supplied water from dams. It is unfortunate, rather criminal negligence, that our successive governments have not been able to build any major dam after Mangla and Tarbela whose storage capacity is shrinking due to silt by each passing day. It is a bitter reality that by being indolent to find out a suitable substitute to Kalabagh Dam for many decades, we have reached a situation where not one or two but a series of dams can save our lands from turning into deserts. How disturbing it would be for our farmers to see their lands uncultivated due to water shortage in a situation when 40-42 million acre feet water of Indus River goes waste in the sea annually simply because we have no major dam to save this water. It is true that India is going ahead with controversial dams and is interfering with our waters showing utter disregard to the provisions of the Indus Water Treaty. However, raising a great hue and cry over India's unjust construction of dams can hardly persuade New Delhi to change its mind. Therefore, the need of the hour is to make the optimal use of our waters by making a number of dams on emergency basis. We should not forget what Dr Qadeer Khan, the renowned scientist of Pakistan, once said. He had stated that the impending water famine would pose a threat greater than the nuclear capability of the enemy. The fact is that farsighted and prudent nations try to conserve each and every drop of water available to them because they think not of them but of their next generations. Our misfortune is that we are more concerned about our present and less worried about what we are leaving for our next generations. Or perhaps we have developed the habit to feel the storm after the damage has been done. Thomas Fuller is right when he says, "We never know the worth of water till the well is dry." Unfortunately, our wells are going to dry up. It is not an exaggeration to say that we are digging our own graves. The writer is a freelance columnist based in Lahore Posted by: john frum 2008-08-06 |
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