LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has organised a seminar titled ‘Water Conservation’ to mark the World Water Day.
LCCI President Ijaz A Mumtaz, Senior Vice President Mian Nauman Kabir, Vice President Syed Mahmood Ghaznavi, Environment Protection Department Secretary Iqbal Muhammad Chauhan, Ali Husnain, Prof Dr Amir Haider, Mushtaq Ahmad Gill, Irrigation Department Director Ghulam Zakir Hassan Sial and Sindh Tas Council Chairman Salman Khan spoke on the occasion.
The speakers said that water shortage can directly hit the economic growth of Pakistan as it is not only the cheapest source of power generation but also a lifeline of agriculture sector. It is a matter of concern that water scarcity is increasing with every passing day, they said, adding, “We are throwing away more than 35 million acre feet water into Arabian Sea.”
LCCI President Ijaz A Mumtaz said that with every passing year, Pakistan was getting closer to the brink of mass starvation because of a drastic cut in water availability from 5,000 cubic meters per capita in 1950s to 1000 cubic meters in 2010. Citing World Bank analysis, he said that Pakistan water storage capacity had gone down to 150 cubic meters per capita whereas Ethopia stands at 50cm. India had improved its per capita storage up to 200cm which would get better further once her under-construction dams started operating.
Mumtaz said that these facts call for establishing water reservoirs across the country to enhance water storage capacity, and the same reservoirs would be handy in case of low and medium floods. He said, “After every two to three years, we have to face emergency situation due to floods in Pakistan, which affect adversely our economy and push us many years back.”
The LCCI president said that the government had to take steps for water conservation and its effective use, asserting that efficient use of water through water conservation would reduce capital and operational cost leading to economic stability and growth.
Speaking on the occasion, Mian Nauman Kabir said that Pakistan’s economy was heavily reliant on agriculture sector that engaged almost 45 percent of our workforce. Pakistan’s leading manufacturing sector was textile that got basic input from agriculture and without water, there was no survival of agriculture, he maintained.
