In the aftermath of the catastrophic 1935 earthquake and during the British rule, Quetta city was designed for a limited population. However, according to Dr Kaleemullah Khan, the mayor of Quetta, the population of this mountain-ringed city has jumped to around three million. This escalation has given rise to a number of problems including water scarcity which has become a serious issue in Quetta and its surrounding areas and is increasing day-by-day, with protests and demonstrations becoming the order of the day.

Environmentalists have been warning about severe scarcity of water, droughts and floods in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan in the future. They fear mass-migration from Quetta city if the government fails to build or delays the construction of dams or does not monitor dams to maintain the depleting water table. Experts believe that water table in Quetta is being depleted at a rate of 10 to 12 feet per annum.

“That is a dangerous level for water depletion,” says Dr Pervez Amir, a well-known environmentalist. “Until rainwater is preserved, the scarcity issue cannot be addressed,” Amir added, speaking at a seminar organised by Pakistan Water Partnership to prepare recommendations for the government in regard to growing water scarcity at the Quetta Press Club.

Changing weather conditions due to climate change demand prompt action for preservation of rainwater

Speakers at the seminar termed water as one of the strategic issues and advised the government to take effective measures to stop water wastage by constructing dams.

“Construction of dams to check wastage of water is integral,” suggested Sardar Mohammad Tariq, an environmentalist. In the recent years, Quetta and other parts of Balochistan have experienced torrential rains. Due to climate change, the rain pattern has changed. “Previously there were three or four spells of showers during the monsoon season but now we have sudden, violent rainfall or no rainfall for months,” Faiz Kakar, the Chief of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Balochistan pointed out. “There has to be an effective mechanism to save torrential rainwater,” he said.

Mud-cracks have also appeared on the land in Killi Sofi area of Kuchlak some 25km away from Quetta. Dr Din Mohammad, a well-known geologist links the mud-cracks to water scarcity and the growing challenge of climate change. “Excessive use of underground water causes cracks on the land surface,” Kakar said, adding that these occur mostly in sediment that was once saturated with water. Abandoned river channels, floodplain muds, and dried ponds are localities where mud-cracks form.

Quetta and most parts of Balochistan experienced eight years of drought-like situation from 1997 to 2005. The scarcity of water forced growers to cut trees from their orchards so that the province’s green areas have turned into deserts. “Droughts in Balochistan have the potential to cause human catastrophe,” said Faiz Kakar.

Many believe that Balochistan has still not recovered from 1997-2005 drought which left a great impact on the water table, drying up wells and Karez — a source of water supply for irrigation and domestic use.

“Earlier, water was available at the depth of a few feet, but now it is pumped through tube wells which are more than 800 feet deep,” says Kakar.

Over 80pc of Balochistan’s irrigation land is fed through rainwater. The economy is largely based on agriculture and livestock and both rely on rainfall which means that with less rain, there will be less produce from the agriculture sector.

The previous drought caused huge financial losses to the people of Balochistan. Orchards dried up, livestock was killed and people were forced to migrate to other areas.

Balochistan’s share was doubled in the National Finance Commission Award passed with consensus, during the previous PPP government. Its budget increased from Rs60 billion to more than Rs200bn as its share from the federal government increased. This implies that there are no financial hurdles that would prevent the provincial government from constructing dams and monitoring the water table. It is the irony of fate that during the previous financial year Rs15bn were not utilised by the planning and development department under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). It reflects the incompetence of the government to evolve an effective strategy to overcome water shortage. Not a lack of resources, rather a lack of political commitment.

The writer is DawnNews correspondent in Quetta; he tweets @alishahjourno

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, March 6th, 2016