Water situation in India is worse than in Pakistan

Premier Modi must realize…

India unable to provide clean water to its population despite
having 5,102 dams; Pakistan among most water-stressed countries in world

Indian Premier Narendra Modi has threatened that he would block the flow of waters to Pakistan and abolish unilaterally the Indus Water Treaty, signed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and President Ayub Khan in Sept 1960 to mutually share the waters of six rivers – Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum. However, it seems the leader of the world’s largest democracy is unaware of the fact that the water crisis in his own country is graver than in his nuclear-rival Pakistan.

A research, conducted by the Jang Group and Geo Television Network, shows that despite having 5,102 dams, compared with Pakistan’s only 163, India is struggling to make all its 1.2 billion-plus residents enjoy access to safe water. The researcher took into account various water-related reports of the International Commission on Large Dams, United Nations, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, the Press Trust of India, Indian Health Ministry, Germany's international broadcaster Deutsche Welle or DW and the 2016 report of WaterAid, a 35-year old charitable trust that is today acknowledged as being one of the most respected global organisations dealing with water, sanitation and hygiene issues.

According to the Paris-based International Commission on Large Dams, an international organization including more than 90 member countries, India has the third largest number of dams after China (23,842) and United States (9,265).

To see where Pakistan stands in this context, here follows the list of other countries with the largest number of dams:

Japan (3,108), Brazil (1,392), South Korea (1,306), Canada (1,170), South Africa (1,114), Spain (1,082), Turkey (972), Iran (802), France (712), United Kingdom (596), Mexico (571), Australia (570), Italy (542), Norway (335), Germany (307), Albania (307), Zimbabwe (254), Romania (246), Thailand (218), Portugal (217), Sweden (190), Bulgaria (181), Austria (171), Switzerland (167), Greece (164) and Pakistan (163).

Alarming safe water availability levels in Pakistan and India:

Research shows that while 16.096 million people in Pakistan don't have access to safe water, 77 million Indians are experiencing the same agony.

In Pakistan, 68 million people don't have access to adequate sanitation, whereas this number stands at 769 million in India’s case.

In one of its March 2016 reports, the WaterAid had revealed that with regard to percentage of population living without access to safe water, Pakistan had rested at 124th position among total 199 countries with 8.6 percent of population without safe water but with regard to number of people, Pakistan was placed at 10th position.

India had topped the list with 75.778 million people without safe water followed by China (63.167 million), Nigeria (57.757 million), Ethiopia (42.251 million), Congo (33.906 million), Indonesia (32.286 million), United Republic of Tanzania (23.239 million), Bangladesh (21.088 million), Kenya (17.206 million people) and then Pakistan.

Dismal per capita water availability figures for Pakistan:

In March 2016, WAPDA Advisor (Diamer Basha Dam) Dr Izhar-ul-Haq was quoted by numerous national media houses as saying that the per capita water availability in the country had decreased to 1,032 cubic meter in 2016 from 5260 cubic meter in 1951 due to rapid growth in population and depleting water storage capacity of the reservoirs because of the natural phenomenon of sedimentation.

Dr. Izhar had opined that Pakistan could store only 10 percent of its annual rivers flow against the world average of 40 percent.

In one of its 2015 report, the Asian Development Bank had said Pakistan was one of the most water-stressed countries in the world, not far from being classified as ‘water scarce,’ with less than 1,000 cubic meters per person per year.

The per capita water availability in the United States was 6,000 cubic metres, Australia 5,500 cubic metres and China 2,200 cubic metres.

The UN’s World Water Development Report had warned: “The total actual renewable water resources in Pakistan decreased from 2,961 cubic meters per capita in 2000 to 1,420 cubic meters in 2005.”

It is imperative to note that the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources had estimated that of the 140 million acre feet (MAF) of water annually available in Pakistan in a normal year, only about 40 MAF somehow reached the Indus delta, while 100 MAF of water was consumed over an area of 40 million acres.

According to international standards, storage capacity is ideally recommended to be around 1,000 days given the climate in the country, though it stood at an unbelievably low 30-day supply in Pakistan.

In its September 21, 2016 report, WaterAid states: “The geography of Pakistan varies greatly, ranging from arid deserts to remote mountainous regions. This makes accessing safe water extremely difficult for many communities. Vast flood plains present a high risk of flooding across much of the country. Over half of the population of Pakistan now lives in urban areas. This rapid migration is putting increased strain on already limited water and sanitation facilities.”

Poor per capita water availability levels in India:

Not long ago, the Live Mint, an Indian daily business newspaper published by Hindustan Times Media Ltd, had emphasized: “The rapid growth of population and its growing needs has meant that per capita availability of fresh water has declined sharply in India from 3,000 cubic metres to 1,123 cubic metres over the past 50 years. The global average is 6,000 cubic metres. As water demand is expected to rise further, the future does not appear rosy. The demand supply mismatch is more severe in certain areas. In urban areas, where the demand of 135 litres per capita daily is more than three times the rural demand of 40 litres per capita daily, the scarcity assumes menacing proportions.”

The newspaper had added: “Already, Delhi and Chennai are fed with supply lines stretching hundreds of kilometres. According to projections by the UN, India’s urban population is expected to rise to 50 percent of the total population by 2050. This would mean 840 million people in the most water-starved parts of the country compared with 320 million today. The issue of inequity in water availability has already proved to be fertile ground for several inter-state and intra-state disputes, and unless mitigating steps are taken now, these conflicts would only escalate. By 2050, energy generation is set to assume a much larger proportion of water usage. This should further nudge India towards renewable resources since thermal power plants are highly water-intensive and currently account for maximum water usage among all industrial applications. In order to match rapidly increasing demand, India needs to make judicious use of its two sources of fresh water — surface water and groundwater. Surface water — with rivers as its main source — is being relentlessly utilized through dams.”

The Live Mint had further stated: “These dams have robbed some rivers of their usual water flow, while diverting the course of others. As much as 55 percent of India’s total water supply comes from groundwater resources, which is also a cause of concern. Unbridled exploitation by farmers has led groundwater levels to plummet dangerously across large swathes of the countryside. Groundwater is critical to India’s water security. Irrigation, of which over 60 percent comes from groundwater, takes up over 80 percent of total water usage in India. Besides, nearly 30 percent of urban water supply and 70 percent of rural water supply comes from groundwater. The absence of rational water policies have led to the relentless exploitation of groundwater resources. Politicians looking to please the large farm vote-bank have provided massive subsidies on equipment and electricity required to mine groundwater.”

Diarrhoea deaths in Pakistan and India:

Around 39,000 children under five die every year from diarrhoea caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation in Pakistan.

In India, about 120,000 children under the age of five succumb to diarrhoea every year. This translates to 328 diarrhoea deaths every day and 13 every hour.

However, the United Nations World Water Development Report 2016 has given a much higher number of diarrhoea deaths in India.

The UN report says: “India’s huge and growing population is putting a severe strain on all of the country’s natural resources. Most water sources are contaminated by sewage and agricultural runoff. India has made progress in the supply of safe water to its people, but gross disparity in coverage exists across the country. Although access to drinking water has improved, the World Bank estimates that 21 percent of communicable diseases in India are related to unsafe water. In India, diarrhoea alone causes more than 1,600 deaths daily—the same as if eight 200-person jumbo-jets crashed to the ground each day. Hygiene practices also continue to be a problem in India. Latrine usage is extremely poor in rural areas of the country; only 14 percent of the rural population has access to a latrine. Hand washing is also very low, increasing the spread of disease. In order to decrease the amount of disease spread through drinking-water, latrine usage and hygiene must be improved simultaneously.”

International situation:

Some 650 million people around the planet are living without safe water today and 2.3 billion humans don't have access to adequate sanitation, one in three of the world's population.

Over 315,000 children die every year from diarrhoea-related diseases caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation, which comes to almost 900 children a day.

According to the United Nations World Water Development Report 2016, three out of four of the jobs worldwide are water-dependent. In fact, water shortages and lack of access may limit economic growth in the years to come,

Diarrhoea is a leading killer of children, accounting for nine percent of all deaths among children under age five worldwide in 2015.

Western media on water scarcity in Pakistan:

In its May 30, 2016 report titled “Why water scarcity is a bigger threat to Pakistan's security than militancy,” the state-run German media outlet Deutsche Welle or DW maintains: “Pakistan is facing an acute water shortage and may run dry by 2025, according to a latest study. Experts say the water scarcity is also stoking violent conflicts in the country, which is already battling insurgency. A country which is dealing with home-grown Islamic militancy and an exponential rise in extremism might not be too concerned about water shortage, or at least it would not be its top priority. That is why the Pakistani government has hinted that it will significantly increase the defence budget for the next financial year, ignoring the fact that water scarcity could be a bigger menace than Islamic terrorism.”

In its above-mentioned report, the Deutsche Welle had quoted the findings of the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources, which had also reportedly predicted that if this situation persisted, Pakistan was likely to face acute water shortage or drought-like situation in the near future.

The Deutsche Welle had gone on to write: “Pakistan has the world's fourth highest rate of water use. Its water intensity rate - the amount of water, in cubic meters, used per unit of GDP - is world's highest. This suggests that no country's economy is more water-intensive than Pakistan's. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pakistan is already the third most water-stressed country in the world. Its per capita annual water availability is 1,017 cubic meters - perilously close to the scarcity threshold of 1,000 cubic meters. Back in 2009, Pakistan's water availability was about 1,500 cubic meters.”

Michael Kugelman, a leading South Asia expert at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson Centre, had viewed: "Pakistan is approaching the scarcity threshold for water. What is even more disturbing is that groundwater supplies - the last resort of water supply - are being rapidly depleted. And worst of all is that the authorities have given no indication that they plan to do anything about any of this.”

According to the Washington DC-based “American Pakistan Foundation,” which was formed in 2009 as the result of a meeting in New York City, at the invitation of the then Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the looming threat of water scarcity was an issue that was rarely talked about in Pakistani politics, and yet it constituted one of the biggest challenges to country’s survival.

The “American Pakistan Foundation” has asserted: “With a projected population of 263 million in the year 2050 (United Nations estimates of 2012), Pakistan needs to put serious thought into how it will provide adequate water for agriculture, industry, and human consumption in the face of rapidly dwindling reserves. The Himalayan glacier, whose ice melt replenishes the Indus River’s annual freshwater, is receding by about one meter - the approximate equivalent of 3.3 feet - per year due to global warming.”