Experts Warn Pakistan is Wasting Huge Amounts of Water Yearly

Pakistan – (Special Correspondent / Web Desk) – Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has made a very important call to action. He wants Pakistan to build more dams to store water. This is welcome news. For too long, the country has focused only on making electricity from water. Now, the leader is linking dams to flood safety. This is a smart and necessary change in thinking.

Every year, Pakistan faces terrible monsoon floods. Then, it spends months facing water shortages. A major reason for this is the country’s own failure to store rainwater. The Prime Minister’s new resolve offers hope for this water-scarce nation.

The recent floods have been devastating. They were caused by heavy rains, melting glaciers, and water released from India. Over 800 people have died. Rushing floodwaters have destroyed homes and farms across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.

Rivers like the Chenab and Ravi have overflowed. They have washed away villages, livestock, and people’s jobs. This destruction happens because Pakistan cannot hold onto the water that comes from the sky and mountains. Our current dams are old and losing their capacity.

According to water authorities, our three big dams are in trouble. They can only hold about 11 million acre-feet of water. That is only enough for one month. Worse, over 35 million acre-feet of floodwater flow uselessly into the sea each year.

Tragic floods in Punjab claim at least 25 lives.

Pakistan also uses over 50 million acre-feet of groundwater every year. We are using this underground water faster than it can be refilled. We built great dams like Mangla and Tarbela decades ago. But the plan to keep building one big dam every ten years failed. The government’s first test is to break this old pattern of inaction.

The Prime Minister’s urgency must lead to quick action. We need to build small reservoirs and immediately restart work on big dams like Mohmand and Diamer-Bhasha. The plan to use our own resources is correct. We can raise funds through public partnerships or special bonds. The nation desperately needs strong dams to secure its water. This is how we will measure the government’s success.