SHAFAQNA PAKISTAN (Shia News Agency)
Tharparkar one of the great dessert area of Pakistan has been facing acute water shortage. Water shortage is a major problem of the area as the limited groundwater is pretty much the only source of water for the people of the district. The groundwater that people here consume is saline to brackish, and has a high concentration of various salts and minerals, which are dangerous for human, as well as livestock health.
Generally, the total soluble salts of the groundwater in Thar Desert range between 636 parts per million (ppm) to 9,543 ppm. The water level varies between eight and 61 metres below the ground surface. The pH is reported to range between 7.1 and 8.6.
In Tharparkar, dug-wells have been found to be the only sustainable source of groundwater. The practice of installing tube wells, hand pumps and wind mills have also been introduced but such schemes have not proved to be entirely successful. Most such schemes are not functional due to social, economic, technical and other reasons.
During a normal day, villagers spend around four to six hours on average to fetch four to five pots (50 to 60 litres) of water from dug-wells. However, during the dry period, they collect water throughout the day, including at nights. At various places in Thar, continuous use has depleted groundwater reserves.
As mentioned earlier, groundwater has a high concentration of salts and minerals, which are not good for human and livestock health. Hence, the regular use of groundwater has led to the emergence of various health abnormalities in people, including kidney stones and joint pains, etc. The social life of villagers is also restricted due to lack of adequate water. This especially affects women, who are responsible for carrying water. Young children often have to forgo education as they are responsible for fetching water. Children remain a necessary part of the water collection process, which sometimes stretches late into the night.
Eighty per cent of the people in Tharparkar are dependenet on rain-fed agriculture for their livelihoods, as well as on livestock. To solve the water problem faced by the people of the district, billions have been invested in schemes focusing on groundwater exploitation, which have not been successful because of the highly prohibitive costs of these schemes and the technical expertise that is required to make them functional. That is why more than 70 per cent of such schemes are non-functional.
However in another effort Sindh Government is confident to resolve Thar water issues. Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has said that 750 reverse osmosis (RO) plants are being installed across Tharparkar district and after completion of the work by the end of this year, 80 per cent issues relating to water in the area will stand solved. The step of installing ROs might work well to address the worsening water woes of Thar. It is hoped Installing 750 RO would help people of the area to overcome this issue.
pakistan.shafaqna.com
