Balochistan, the largest and the most exiguous populated but deep-pocketed naturally resourced province of Pakistan, has the most arid weather conditions and mountainous geographical location. The world focuses on frequently melting glaciers and the flood in Sindh, Balochistan is skirmishing with climate change and relative obscurity. The province has multiple unrest consequences, political effects, insurgences, geopolitical involvement, etc. Additionally, the region has very rough weather conditions, receives much little rainfall annually 2 to 20 inches (50 to 500mm), have the only option to fulfill its water consumption needs, the rainwater.
Oxygen is important for living fossils, but water is equally important. As the Earth’s 75% is covered with water, 3% of the water is freshwater 1% of Water can be used for drinking, other 2% is in the form of glaciers and groundwater. All the species on the Earth, micro bacteria to adult humans need water to survive on the planet. Balochistan, is the most arid province of Pakistan, with fine annual precipitation, and dry weather with mountainous terrain leading to the area’s significant lack of greenery and vegetation simulating desert-like conditions in the province.
Balochistan and Pakistan as comparatively lack water resource entities, and many reports indicate that Pakistan may become a water-scarce country. The dry climate of the province causes significant shortages of water, but in the past, the population was less than in contemporary Balochistan. The sources were mitigated and remedied the issue of shortage by the people.
In the era of British colonial rule, the Britishers realized the potential of agriculture in Balochistan, they improved the sources of water and initiated many infrastructure projects to harness water resources such as building irrigation canals to redirect the water of the rivers and streams to use for agriculture purposes. Furthermore, the Kareze system has been improved by lining the concrete and new techniques for their maintenance and operation. The development of the Quetta water supply system to meet the city’s increasing population needs.
However, the water supply system of Balochistan in the British era focused primarily on meeting the expense of the Empire. After gaining independence, the water management system was neglected by the government and there was not any significant development in the sector, showing the matter of crises in the 21st century. The people of Balochistan are facing a cascading situation surrounding the availability of water, such as a shortage of water for domestic use, agriculture, and industrial usage. According to the reports, 50% of the population
of Balochistan is deprived of safe drinking water. In the district of Kalat, people travel 8 to 10 kilometers to get water for drinking by picking buckets on their heads.
Consequently, Balochistan is a mountainous region with a dry desertic climate causing to increase in the temperature and a shortage of water. Lack of infrastructure and storage capacity as discussed Balochistan has only source of water is rainwater, needs to store rainwater as much as possible, it needs improvement in the infrastructure to build the dams. India has more than 2000 dams to fulfill its water needs, on the other hand, Pakistan has only 150 dams in the number. Basin-wise water monitoring systems could be the best option to sustain water resources, and low delta crops reduce stress on groundwater. Furthermore, the drip irrigation rotational grazing could control the water scarcity. Unauthorized tube wells extract the groundwater creating an alarming situation for the province, according to the reports there are almost 1500 illegal tube wells right under the nose of the Quetta Electric Supply Company (QESCO). The State government needs to crack down against these kinds of mafias to save the water for generations.
Article written by Abdul Ghafoor Khan, a student of International Relations and an independent researcher, specializing in geopolitical and environmental issues. His work focuses on the intersection of political instability, climate change, and resource management in regions like Balochistan.
