Water crisis

The shortage of safe drinking water is found in Pakistan with an estimated 44 percent of the population without access to clean drinking water. In rural areas, 90 percent of the people don’t have access to this basic necessity. The water scarcity threat is one of the biggest challenges to Pakistan’s survival. Around 200,000 children in Pakistan die every year because of diarrheal diseases, according to a report of the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR). It is predicted that by the end of the year 2020, the population of Karachi is expected to be approximately 23 million and the demand of water would be 1,242 MGD (54 GPCD) 2,700ml/day shortfall of water. In Pakistan, the majority of population is using groundwater which is not fit for consumption for drinking purpose.

This is because of unplanned urbanisation and industrialisation. Exploitation of natural resources and discharge of hazardous wastes into water bodies without proper treatment is one of the major concerns. Intensity of the water quality problem is enormous. As water is the essential need of every human being and it’s the basic right of every person to access safe drinking water, the government should pay attention to the water crisis.

Javeria Bano 

Karachi