Water is not a right but a basic necessity for every individual. It is a necessity for survival. According to the resources, Balochistan is the worst affected as compared to other provinces regarding water. Water could be found after digging about 20 to 30 feet into the ground.

According to reports, 60 percent of people are deprived of safe drinking water. More than 58 percent of the land is uncultivated due to water scarcity. Still in this modern era, when one has reached the moon, Baloch women walk miles and miles to find water to fill their buckets and carry those heavy buckets back home. There are many times when the water is taken from the ponds and due to stagnant water numerous diseases are generated within the body even resulting in death sometimes because of lack of proper medication. The government installed tube wells to ease people, currently, there are 6,000 tube wells across the province but didn’t think about building dams and taking action against illegal drilling.

One of the main reasons for droughts and water scarcity in Balochistan is Global warming. With each passing year, the sun is a scorcher and high temperature has resulted in barren lands and droughts. Furthermore, The largest province that covers around 44% of the country only has 64 dams among them Mirani dam is the largest dam that is 3,080 ft. As Balochistan is an agricultural province that produces almost every sort of fruit, dry fruits, dates, vegetables and other different kinds of food due to its seasonal changes or temperature ratio differing in each city. Therefore, the consumption of water is increasing day by day.

The concerned authorities must provide sustainable water management to the people of Balochistan. More dams are needed to be built as soon as possible. Apart from it, saving water and stopping the wastage of water is the responsibility of every individual. The technological era has already made things like smart eco-shower that help to prevent the wastage of water. Not only this, but solar energy water is another way to help, Zero Mass solar panels change air into drinking water, and flexible seawater desalination is more costly than surface water but in such a situation is necessary, also mini indoor farms, efficient water infrastructures can work. The previous year, the Pakistani government initiates 199 projects worth PKR601 billion as part of its Southern Balochistan development package which included building dams and reviewing the old ones. Water management was supposed to be on top, however, yet no action is taken. The concerned authorities must take action now before it’s too late.

The writer is a student and a freelance columnist, based in Balochistan.