There is no denying the fact that Water is an important element of life. Without it, there would be no people, animals or plants on the earth. Unlike developing states like Pakistan, many developed countries on the map of world are still deprived of free fresh water, the natural gift of the Almighty, despites their development in all spheres of life. The list of such countries Includes Norway, Turkey, the Netherlands, the UK and the USA where the prize of petrol is cheaper than water, as it is in most oil-producing Middle Eastern countries.
More cities around the globe are recycling sewage water into drinking water. Namibia’s desert capital, Windhoek, has been doing so for many decades. A number of cities in China are among them. Poor people living in many countries end up paying the most for their water. The six most expensive countries to drink water include Papua New Guinea, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Madagascar and Ghana. None are exactly highly developed.
In India, a neighboring country, each year, 140,000 children die from diarrhea due to a lack of access to clean water. Undeniably, up to 80 percent of the illnesses in the developing world are linked to inadequate water and sanitation. According to UN-Water, Geneva, Switzerland, by 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in countries with absolute water scarcity.
It is important to become more water-aware before it’s too late. Doing simple things such as fixing leaks, taking shorter showers and turning off the tap when brushing your teeth or shaving can save a lot of water. To sum up, it is need of hour that members of civil society must chalk out effective strategies to minimize the water waste in small cities, where fresh groundwater is a God-gifted source for them, by arranging seminars and awareness rallies to prove themselves good citizens and help the state to perform its function in letter and spirit as a part of a democracy.
In a developing country like Pakistan, it is saddening to learn that natural fresh water, which is a groundwater source, is not paid any heed especially in rural and small cities of Sindh due to its adequate availability free of cost. Peoples in interior Sindh, like in Larkana, Naodero, Shikarpur, Jacobabad, Khairpur or Ranipur, are using groundwater for drinking and home chores. Unfortunately, due to its being free and adequately available, most of it is wasted on a large scale in households during washing clothes and kitchen utensils and even in taking showers,or running toilets, dripping faucets, and other leaks. On the other hand, developed states pay a high price for water, This is a precious gift of nature, more so than gas and oil despite their high economic and technological development.
According to the UN, the average person needs between 20 and 50 litres (5.3-13.2 gallons) of water each day to satisfy their drinking, cooking, cleaning, and sanitation needs. Retrospectively, fresh water is becoming worrisome in South Asia, particularly in Pakistan, which may face absolute water scarcity by 2040.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has placed Pakistan at “third” position in the list of countries facing acute water scarcity. It isa very deplorable condition in a country where the per capita availability of fresh water is below the water scarcity threshold (1,000 cubic metres), which was 3,950 cubic metres in 1961 and 1600 in 1991.
The habit of squandering water everywhere in households has contributed to an alarming situation of water scarcity. In this regard, Pakistan has made headway to revive the water storage capacity up to mark as it was in its golden days of the country soon after Independence. The recent commendable steps taken by the government to recycle rain and ablution water are highly praiseworthy. It is high time, The federal and provincial governments must work in tandem to take preventive measures and initiatives to save the country from doomsday after five years when there will be a hue and cry on fresh water availability that could lead to water terrorism across the state. History reveals that a vibrant media is the fourth pillar of a democratic state. Government must use this effective tool to bring awareness among the masses about the smart use of fresh water. Radio is another dedicated service to bring change optimistically in society which is the most listened-to device in rural areas of Sindh where freshwater natural resources are wasted in huge quantities regularly. It is no less than a challenging task for the incumbent government to save Pakistan from going from being a ‘water-stressed’ country into a ‘water-scarce’ country.
It is important to become more water-aware before it’s too late. Doing simple things such as fixing leaks, taking shorter showers and turning off the tap when brushing your teeth or shaving can save a lot of water. To sum up, it is need of hour that members of civil society must chalk out effective strategies to minimize the water waste in small cities, where fresh groundwater is a God-gifted source for them, by arranging seminars and awareness rallies to prove themselves good citizens and help the state to perform its function in letter and spirit as a part of a democracy.
