The state of squandering

By Mansoor Ahmad
December 07, 2019

LAHORE: There are certain national traits that need to be changed to ensure sustained growth. Misuse of water is one, the use of inefficient burners and geysers, tendency to believe all negative news that social media spreads and many more.

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We daily see households, industries and farmers wasting water in large amounts in regions where water is abundant, while their counterparts in some parts of the country struggle to find water for even drinking.

The farmers having access to canal water use it lavishly. They have to pay nominal charges for that. Farmers, living in arid regions or where canal water cannot reach, have to pump ground water at a very high cost.

These poor farmers have to compete with those having abundant water when they sell their produce and they are surviving for decades under these disadvantaging conditions.

Any talk of increasing the water rates creates ripples in the country. Would it not be fair if these farmers are charged the same rate at which the water costs the farmers who pump it. The water use would decline by 50 percent. The farmers would start using water conservation technologies and level their fields evenly to ensure equal distribution of water through sprinkling and other technologies.

There would be no water shortage in the country for years to come. Give it for free and then be prepared to face acute water shortages sooner than later.

In the same way the industries in Karachi and suburbs spend fortunes on procuring water that dilute the advantage of establishing industries near seaport.

They use half the quantity of water in their industries than the Industries in Punjab that waste water at will because it is available in ample quantities.

Why these industries can’t be asked to bear the same cost as borne by Karachi industries to promote conservation. This is easier said than done as it may be in national interest but not possible politically.

If we do not muster the courage to take corrective measures we will soon ruin our agriculture due to water shortage.

Coming to the unfair use of natural gas, we must know that 70 percent of this gas is consumed domestically. There is acute shortage of gas in the country and we are importing it for use in Punjab at a very high cost.

The domestic consumers use appliances that are only 25 percent efficient -be it kitchen burners, room heaters, or water geysers. If we could regulate strictly and do not allow any appliance below 50 percent efficiency, we will save 35 percent of the domestic gas and reduce our imports.

There is another discrepancy in this regard. Piped natural gas is available to only 22 percent of the population the rest uses other fuels for cooking and heating purposes.

They use liquefied petroleum gas, coal, and wood, all of which are much expensive than the piped gas. We have to increase gas rates to ensure its fair use. Again a difficult political decision!

As far as media and particularly social media are concerned, it goes without saying lies travel faster than the truth.

There is no remedy for those who have been hurt by fake news. In Pakistan the legal system unfortunately takes an eternity to dispose of defamation cases against media, unlike in developed economies. Cement factories located near Kallar Kahar came under scrutiny for degrading environment.

It was reported, for instance, that DG Khan Cement Factory was supposed to plant 80,000 trees around the factory but it planted only 37,000.

When actual counting was done the tally of trees turned out to be 160,000. Such fake news destroys the reputation of businesses. Thus they ought to be discouraged seriously.

Another practice here is of make rules that are not practicable in terms of implementation. For instance a regulation in some cities forbids US citizens from entering cantonment areas. Nobody ever though that almost all major airports of the country are located in the cantonment areas.

How could a foreigner enter the city after disembarking from plane without passing through cantonment area? This rule is violated daily but there is trouble if someone is caught during checking. We should give respect to foreigners.

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