Zarah Nasir in her column titled 'Use it or lose it (The Nation, January 11) has advocated against having grass lawns in houses or even in schools, colleges and hospitals saying all these should be put out to pasture. This is ridiculous. We should not allow our own failings to turn our cities into concrete jungles. One does not live by bread alone. She should instead be asking the government why nothing is being done to increase availability of water, which has reduced from 5000 cubic meters per person per annum, to 1200 cubic meters/person/annum, bordering on water-scarcity. Why are more dams not being constructed as is being done the world over? India has 5000 dams and is still building more including a mega dam on the Narmada River against huge public outcry. New Delhi is doing so on the premise that it is the duty of the central government to provide power for industry and water for agriculture and it cannot surrender it writ to the pressure of the regional forces. In US, the Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger recently said that the bill for revamping the state water system would not get his signatures unless it includes some major new dam and reservoir projects. -KHURSHID ANWER, Lahore, January 11.