Pakistan started off as a water affluent country in 1947, with per capita availability of renewable water at more than 5,000 cubic meters, but now it is on the verge of becoming water stressed, with per capita availability down to almost 1,000 cubic meters.
An official said that the water issue mainly caused by the mismanagement of MCI’s administration, because dozens of tub-wells in the city were not functional because the MCI has failed to fix the faulty tube wells.
He said that the authority instead of improving the water supply to different sectors through management, the MCI was supplying water to posh areas and the residents at the periphery were passing through great ordeal due to water shortage.
Against the demand of 211MGD water daily, the MCI is providing only 55 to 65MGD water and this gap is increasing with each passing day.
The Simly Dam has the capacity to provide 39 million gallon water per day, but only providing 25 million gallon and Khanpur Dam has the capacity to provide 16 million gallon water per day but only providing 8 million as two out of three foreign-made motors are not functional since 2002.
Zahid, a resident of Bhara Kahu, said it was quite astonishing that people of the area were struggling to get drinking water while the government seemed not interested in addressing the issue.
He said that the water crisis in Islamabad was becoming a hot issue for the election campaigns, as local leadership of two main opposition parties Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) have already started grilling the government and civic bodies for their failure to ensure sufficient supply of water to residents of the federal capital.
After PTI protest rally led by the party local MNA Asad Umar on the issue, State Minister for Capital Administration and Development Division (CA&DD) Tariq Fazal Chaudhry prompted into action and announced Rs 50 million budget for rehabilitation of 60 dysfunctional tube wells as well as repairing of leaked water lines from the Simli Dam.
Recent study conducted by NESPAK indicated that there was around 33pc loss of water in the domestic water supply system.
These losses may increase in future and thus efforts were needed for developing operational management plans for supply of water to the residents of Islamabad.

Coconut trees wilting away, farmers ask for compensation.
Coconut cultivation in the Marungapuri panchayat union – the largest coconut cultivating area in the district – has been passing through a testing time, with the trees wilting due to acute drought.
Surrounded by hillocks, the union has been registering assured rainfall during the North East monsoon.
Farmers say that the continued failure of monsoon in the past has not only brought down the yield but also had an adverse impact on the size.
Visit any village including Marungapuri, Valanadu, Puththanmapatti, Yagapuram, Kallur, Malligaipatti, Vellaiya Kaundanpatti, Mudukkupatti or Poigaipatti, and one can come across a large extent of coconut groves in these villages.
Farmers say that the growth had got diminished by one-third of usual weight indicating that the quality was far less.
R. Sekar, who had cultivated coconut on about five acres with 360 trees, said that the union, with red-loam soil, was suited for any crop in general and coconut in particular.
Against 15,000 coconuts a harvest, he could hardly get 3,000 coconuts now.
A few trees in his grove, raised three decades ago by his parents, had withered due to water scarcity and he had uprooted at least three trees so far.
Another farmer P. Pazhanisami said that since the size of the coconut was too small, it could be used only as copra for the extraction of oil.

The realities of scarce water resources around the globe.
Water is the one resource that all life on Earth needs to survive – That’s a fact.
Kabul is a city that was designed to hold one million people but, it is now home to over 4.2 million residents.
It is said to be the largest and most severe drought on record.
This same thing has happened in India and other countries where politics and big business override the objections of local communities trying to protect their water sources against the bigger economic demands of the government.
More recently, in New Zealand, water, once an abundant resource, is becoming scarce and has become a political football in some communities.
Water scarcity’s economic effects are huge The first thing that comes to most people’s minds is the impact of water scarcity on agriculture and farming, and this is correct.
But perhaps the most damaging result of water scarcity is the impact it has on the human population.
One very obvious fact comes to mind – Cities are now overpopulated while the infrastructure has not been updated to fulfill the needs of residents.
Countries in Africa, Southeast Asia and other regions of the world are still grappling with the basics of survival in our fast-changing climate, leaving them little time to figure out mediation techniques.

Beyoncé’s BeyGOOD Foundation Announces Initiative To Solve Water Scarcity Problems In Burundi.
Beyoncé and her foundation BeyGOOD announced a new initiative at the Essence Festival in New Orleans on Friday morning.
The artist’s organization is teaming with UNICEF to help raise money to help bring more clean water to citizens of Burundi.
There are also two limited edition shirts for sale, the sales of which will benefit UNICEF’s support of Burundi.
A post on Beyoncé’s website explains the new charitable effort.
"Burundi is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa with nearly half of the population lacking access to clean, safe drinking water," it says.
"With your help, nearly half a million people will gain access to safe water, as BEYGOOD4BURUNDI and UNICEF will support building water supply systems for healthcare facilities and schools, and the drilling of boreholes, wells and springs to bring safe water to districts."
During the Formation World Tour in 2016, Beyoncé used the umbrella organization to partner with United Way and charities at the local level during her tour stops.
In February of last year, BeyGOOD also said that it would help out relief efforts in Flint Michigan’s water crisis.

French agency in 65-million-euro water pact for Puducherry.
New Delhi, Jun 30 The French Development Agency (AFD) today signed a 65-million-euro Credit Facility Agreement (CFA) with the Central government for financing puducherry’s water supply project.
Noting that Puducherry is an area of water scarcity and climate change is likely to add greater strain on the already affected water resources, there is an urgent need for planning and implementing the sustainable use of water resources, an official statement said.
The agreement was signed by joint secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) S Selvakumar and Hervé Dubreuil, Deputy Director for India AFD.
The union territory’s public works department (PWD) will be responsible for the implementation of this policy in coordination with the Puducherry Pollution Control Committee (PPCC).
"The objective of the project is to contribute to the improvement of the living conditions of the people of Puducherry and its environs, by increasing the availability of drinking water.
"It also aims to create a healthy and attractive environment to back the development of the city," the statement said.
Under the project, it is envisaged to drill 84 borewells, acquire submersible pumps, install electrical transformers, set up pumping stations and reservoirs, develop intermediate storage wells and pipes for the distribution network, and promote individual connections for the urban poor.
In addition, it is planned to extend the water supply to the peri-urban area of the city of Puducherry by increasing the number of tanks.

Teaming up with UNICEF, Beyoncé announced the #BEYGOOD4BURUNDI project at the Essence Festival in New Orleans this morning (June 30).
The African country has numerous problems with water scarcity and a lack of clean, safe drinking water.
Back in 2016, Beyoncé and the BeyGOOD Foundation raised over $82,000 for the Flint water crisis in America, with the money raised by donations from Beyoncé’s fans.
Beyonce recently welcomed twins with her husband Jay-Z, who today released his new album ‘4:44’.
The singer announced news of her pregnancy back in February via an instantly-iconic Instagram post.
She wrote at the time: “We would like to share our love and happiness.
We have been blessed two times over.
We are incredibly grateful that our family will be growing by two, and we thank you for your well wishes.
– The Carters.” Beyoncé was later forced to pull out of her Coachella headline slot on doctor’s orders, but will headline the festival in 2018 instead.
Beyoncé gave birth to her first child with Jay Z, daughter Blue Ivy, in January 2012.

FAO Conference 40th Session: 9 Things to Know.
The Conference is FAO’s highest governing body.
The 40th Session of the FAO Conference will be held on 3-8 July, 2017.
The Conference is the organization’s highest governing body and sessions are held every two years.
The Quebec meeting is considered the first Conference, and since then the Conference has been held biennially for more than 70 years.
Built in 1951, the Plenary Hall is the most important room at FAO Headquarters and is especially designed to hold high-level meetings such as the FAO Conference.
It has a seating capacity of 1,180 people including the main floor and the gallery.
The dominant colour in the hall is blue, a reminder of the blue of the United Nations flag.
Measuring around 500 square metres over 18 panels, the figurative work is an allegoric representation of the sky and the ocean floor.
The Conference is multi-lingual.

The initiative dubbed Tsavo Climate Challenge seeks to grow and nurture 40 million trees in 12 counties in a span of three years.
Work in Kajiado, Machakos, Kitui, Tana River, Garissa, Kwale, Kilifi, and Lamu, begins in 2018.
“The ecological biodiversity, cultural and historical heritage of these counties which fall under the wider Tsavo Ecosystem Dispersal Area (TEDA), are under threat from adverse effects of unsustainable land use, environmental degradation, inappropriate management of natural resources and the effects of climate change,” said Tsavo Heritage Foundation Founder Member Mrs Wanjala Sio, at the launch of the Tsavo Climate Challenge in Nairobi.
“Tsavo is a shadow of its former self.
She noted that water scarcity was a more imminent threat to both human and wildlife and “work must be urgently done to get water systems rehabilitated and conserved for the sustenance of this critical ecosystem.” The world’s renowned ecologist John D. Liu who launched the initiative said there was hope of reclaiming the Tsavo ecosystem but relevant bodies need to act faster, adding that the process should not be left to conservationist alone.
“Ecosystem restoration camps are the best possibility because they are low cost, high impact and it allows you to engage many people in mitigation and adaptation restoring hydrological cycles, biodiversity, and growing soil.
Through these activities, these camps will be able to provide meaningful engagement to thousands of unemployed youths,” Liu said.
“We want to work with the local communities and institutions because we want the locals to own the initiate as we move from just planting trees to growing and nurturing them, which takes longer, and the communities are in a better position to tend to the trees until they are mature enough to survive on their own,” she said.
The Foundation has also lined up some activities to support the Climate Challenge initiative including a marathon dubbed Tsavo Run which will allow for participation by individuals and corporate organizations; a special conference on climate change; and a cultural and award ceremony event dubbed The Beats of Tsavo to celebrate Tsavo while awarding and recognize leaders in its conservation and rehabilitation.
“This is a huge task which requires a lot of resource- monetary and otherwise.

Synthetic Biology in Public Policy To kick-start the discussion on the government’s role in the advancement of synthetic biology, Minister, Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Home Affairs and Second Minister for National Development Mr Desmond Lee addressed SB 7.0 about the Singapore government’s contribution to research as well as synthetic biology on a whole.
Synthetic Biology as an Industry The discussion on industry’s relationship with synthetic biology was spearheaded by Dr Randal J. Kirk of Interexon.
There were also numerous synthetic Biology start-ups that gave their respective presentations.
A couple have been quoted saying: if you can’t create something then you don’t really understand it at all The GP Write project has massive challenges ahead of it ranging from technical and funding challenges to that of marking out different turfs (as researchers want the assurance that no one else would attempt to encroach upon their group’s work).
The Synthetic Yeast Genome Project (Sc2.0) also held their 6th Annual General Meeting on the Saturday of the conference week, and a number of those involved in the project gave presentations at SB 7.0.
Other speakers spoke of using competition as a method for collaboration.
@alexandradaisy #SB7conf pic.twitter.com/5yTIGNAmqG — karen ingram (@krening) June 13, 2017 #ilike, #iwish, #iwonder, #iwill: #synbioleap Over the course of the conference, there was an effort by the Synthetic Biology Leadership Excellence Accelerator Program (LEAP) to kick-start a conversation on how conference attendees felt about the state of synthetic biology now, as well as their hopes for the future.
Finally, #iwill is a statement of action that would hopefully get participants to step up and attempt to fill the gaps that they have identified.
However, if there is one thing to take away from the conclusion of SB 7.0, it is that there are not just scientific and industrial steps forward in the field.
Furthermore, those within the field, regardless of whether they represent the industry or academia seek public understanding as well as participation in order to dispel fears as well as to bring us into the discourse.

Dhading village turns to deep bore-well as water sources dry.
Dhading, June 29 Locals of Jwalamukhi Rural Municipality, Dhading, who were facing acute shortage of drinking water, have now a reason to smile as they have managed to extract underground water through deep boring.
The villagers were reeling under water scarcity after water sources in their locality dried up following the devastating 2015 earthquakes.
Under a local initiative with support from the District Coordination Committee, Jyawamukhi Rural Municipality and DTH Rock Dealing Company, the locals have drilled a deep bore-well.
Then VDC chairman Ram Hari Pokhrel said they had to drill 120 metres deep for water, adding that now water would be supplied for local consumption and long endured water crisis would end.
The villagers will now be able to extract around 30,000 litres of water in an hour from the well.
The project cost Rs 40 lakh, said Pokharel.
A version of this article appears in print on June 30, 2017 of The Himalayan Times.