LAHORE - Punjab Irrigation Minister Mohsin Khan Leghari has said that water conservation was collective responsibility as depleting resources have become a biggest threat.
Talking to Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry President Mian Tariq Misbah and Vice President Tahir Manzoor Chaudhry here Wednesday, he said that the country was facing water scarcity.
The minister said that the water table is falling at the rate of 1 meter per year. He said that only way to conserve water is through awareness at the national level. It is important to raise awareness on the level of universities.
“We should make our friends, family and people around us more aware about the water shortage challenges”, he said.
He said that it is important to build dams. “Due to lack of dams, we are not able to store water. A serious water crisis will occur if we don’t build dams,” he said.
The minister said the government has planned to increase the storage capacity of water from to 13 million acre feet to 24 million acre feet.
Mian Tariq Misbah said that a law should be made to penalize the people who use water through pipes to wash their cars at home. He said that the water shortage can have serious implications for food security as there will be no water to irrigate crops.
He said that the world average for storing water from river flow is 40 per cent while in Pakistan this ratio is only 10 per cent. He said that after the budget, an awareness session would be launched to apprise the members about the water shortage challenges and the way forward to deal with the looming crisis.