LAHORE, Feb 10: Chronic water and electricity shortages pose a far greater threat to the country than any government can foresee, warns a leading researcher.

A study undertaken by Engineer Bashir A. Malik, who had served as chief technical adviser United Nations and World Bank, portrays a grave risk of drought if remedial measures are not taken at the earliest.

“Given the dwindling water resources, it is apprehended that the country may face the worst crisis in 2025, when the total population will be around 221 million. Against the minimum requirement of 140 million acre feet water, there will be hardly 121maf even if all dams are built by that time. At present, 35maf water is lost to rivers,” he told Dawn during an informal chat.

He pins blame on successive governments for their myopic policies and failure to negotiate with India over the water share. Pakistan, he said, had virtually ceded the Ravi, Sutlej and Bias rivers to India under the Indus Water Treaty.

“India has all along been violating the bilateral agreement by building dams on Pakistan’s western rivers – Chenab, Jhelum and Indus.

The Nimoo Bazgo run-of-the-river power project on the Indus river will also harm Pakistan’s interests. In short, the IWT is hitting our agriculture sector,” alleged Engineer Bashir, who has authored ‘Save Water Save Pakistan’, a compendium of water woes afflicting the country.

He laments that India is aggressively exploiting water resources as 190 dams are being built whereas not even a single dam is being constructed here, advocating Kalabagh Dam Project which started in 1987 but fell a victim to ‘political wrangling’.

As for the Bhasha dam, he points out shortcomings in the project. The site for the project, he says, is not suitable for a mega structure which can be dangerous keeping in view seismic and other technical aspects. He says he has the plan to move a court of law to challenge the project in the best national interest.

He hits out at the government also for the power turmoil currently roiling the country. “While the standard practice in advanced countries is use of 70 per cent hydropower and 30 per cent thermal energy resources, it is the other way round in Pakistan.”

He said RPPs (rental power projects) and other quick-fix measures spoke volumes for the short-sightedness of those at the helm, adding that the country had immense potential but little political will.

Engineer Bashir, who has undertaken various philanthropic initiatives, demands that the services of engineers and other professionals should be duly acknowledged and their knowledge and suggestions optimally used to improve the state of affairs.

With a vision to bring together professionals to a platform, he intends to launch a forum to formally hammer home the issues of national concern and come up with solutions.

“Awareness programmes like seminars and moots will be conducted to seek expert opinion on water and power issues. Besides, we will engage politicians and government functionaries in deliberations to work out modalities of practicable initiatives,” he said and urged the media to properly highlight the issues concerning the masses. — MUHAMMAD SALMAN KHAN