President Dr. Arif Alvi Wednesday stressed the need for adopting sustainable and durable measures to overcome water scarcity issue in Balochistan and cautioned that the water shortage was becoming a serious problem in the province.
QUETTA, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 14th Nov, 2018 ) :President Dr. Arif Alvi Wednesday stressed the need for adopting sustainable and durable measures to overcome water scarcity issue in Balochistan and cautioned that the water shortage was becoming a serious problem in the province.
He expressed these views while talking to Governor Balochistan Justice retired Amanullah Khan Yasinzai, Chief Minister Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan, provincial cabinet members and members of the provincial assembly.
The president observed that they had a vision of a peaceful and prosperous Pakistan and every individual had to contribute to the development of the country.
During President’s visit to Governor House, different issues including launch of sewage treatment project, establishment of universities and progress on the ongoing economic projects for the public welfare reviewed.
The president informed that effective measures were being taken for promotion of higher education and providing better educational opportunities to the youth in Balochistan.
He observed that laying a railway line from Gwadar to Quetta would help increase trade and transportation in the region.
The president further assured that the issue of cut in gas price for Balochistan province, during the winter season, would be discussed at the relevant forum.
He observed that Balochistan was gifted with the largest coastal line in the country and its coastline areas could yield Rs10 billion worth of fisheries for export.
Later, he visited Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri’s residence along with federal ministers and Speaker National Assembly to offer condolences over the death of his mother.

A division of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, Kibera constitutes one of Africa’s largest urban slums.
It is a place where the brunt of water scarcity is felt every day.
Clean Water in Kibera Clean water in Kibera is not only scarce, but it is also costly, inconsistent and contaminated; since Kibera is classified as an informal settlement, public services aren’t provided on a compulsory basis.
Kennedy Odede, who was raised in Kibera, founded Shining Hope for Communities (Shofco) — a local nongovernmental organization (NGO) that catalyzes large-scale reformations in urban slums.
Organizations Working Towards Sustainability Majin a Ufanisi, a Kenyan NGO, pioneered the Water, Hygiene and Sanitation Enterprise Model (WASHEM) which is mandated to provide sustainable water solutions in Kibera.
M-Maji collects the daily coordinates of water vendors, so that individuals looking for clean water in Kibera can simply consult their mobile phone instead of wandering around.
More than 70 percent of Kibera’s residents own a mobile phone, making M-Maji a viable option for water-seekers.
Creating Tangible Improvement In a bid to represent all parts of the locale, many Kenyan politicians cite the provision of affordable and clean water in Kibera.
“But the residents know and understand that we only have their interests at heart.
Now, only time will tell how governments, organizations and Kenyans will fare in improving access to water in Kiberia.

Residents of Johannesburg and its surrounding areas have been warned to use water sparingly this week as the temperatures soar in Gauteng.
Joburg Water spokesperson Isaac Dhludhlu said the warning comes after the South African Weather Service advised residents on Monday to prepare themselves for scorching temperatures especially in Gauteng, parts of the Eastern Cape, Free State, North West and parts of the Garden Route.
Temperatures are expected to climb on Tuesday 35% over what is normally expected in parts of Gauteng.
We continue to urge communities that we supply with water, to use it wisely.
Our province has challenges of water scarcity at times,” Dhludhlu said.
Dhludhlu called on consumers to keep their bodies hydrated by consuming water regularly and having a bottle of water next to them.
To those walking, Dhludhlu advised them to carry umbrellas to protect them from the sun.
Where our systems can’t cope we will start with water restrictions and quickly alert the affected communities.
Consumers should remember that we get our water supply from Rand Water and once they notice a high usage they alert us, and we restrict usages.” READ MORE: Rand Water distances itself from water shortages in Emfuleni municipality Dhludhlu urged residents to have a bucket of 20 litres filled with water in their homes, in case restrictions are applied.
"We will continue to monitor all our reservoirs around the City of Johannesburg, and in those areas where water usage is high.

The civic authority has officially announced water cuts in the coming week, as Mumbai’s water stock has dipped from 93 per cent on October 1 to 77 per cent on November 11.
But this year, water level remained up to 93 per cent at the end of September.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) didn’t declare any water cut in October, but several parts of the city already faced water scarcity because of various technical issues.
Corporators blamed the civic body for unofficial water cut.
But now the civic body may officially impose water cuts across the city as the big festival Diwali is over.
After discussion with the state irrigation department, division of water cut may come in a few days."
It is most likely that civic body also takes the decision to use water wisely.
As on November 11, the Bhatsa dam has 78 per cent water stock- about 50% of Mumbai’s water supply come from this lake.
The Bhatsa had 91 per cent water on 1st October.
The other lakes water level also dropped to 76 per cent.

JEDDAH: The winners of the eighth edition of the Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz International Prize for Water received their awards during a recent ceremony at the UN headquarters in New York.
The competition is held under the patronage of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman.
Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadhli, the Saudi minister of water, environment and agriculture, underlined the importance of the prize in supporting the great efforts made by Saudi Arabia to address and reduce water scarcity.
The Surface Water Prize went to Dr. Wilfried Brutsaert from Cornell University in the US.
He developed, demonstrated and validated a new theory that can generate unprecedented estimates of evaporation in the natural landscape, with successful applications in numerous locations.
The Groundwater Prize was awarded to Dr. Martinus Theodorus van Genuchten from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, for developing and applying key theoretical and software tools that describe water flow and contaminant transport in soil and groundwater systems.
This has helped to define modern hydrogeology.

Darius Ishaku of Taraba on Saturday inaugurated the renovated 80-year-old maternity ward at General Hospital Warwar on the Mambilla plateau, Sardauna Local Government Area of the state.
The ward was renovated by Mr Abel Diah, the Speaker of Taraba House of Assembly.
The ward which was built in 1938 by the missionaries was inaugurated by the governor alongside spring water projects at Ndarup and Mbamga communities also executed by Diah for his constituents.
Ishaku commended the speaker for executing projects that had direct bearing on the lives of the people of the constituency.
“The state government will take over the projects as requested by the Speaker and maintain them for effective services for the well being of the people of Mbamga constituency,’’ said the governor.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ishaku announced the donation of an ambulance and incubating machine to the hospital as well as engagement of six additional nurses for the facility.
He commended the governor for visiting the constituency to personally inaugurate and take over the projects despite the difficult terrain.
Diah explained since the return of democracy, no governor had visited the constituency due to the hard to reach community.
NAN reports that residents of the constituency trooped out in thousands to witness the handing over of the projects to state ministries of health and water resources, respectively.
(NAN)

In Iraq, water management issues, combined with weak state institutions and a situation of armed conflict, fuelled instability.
Dead trees tower over the area of Siba in the Iraqi city of Basra, last July.
(AP) In a recently released report titled “Water Management in Fragile Systems,” the World Bank and the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) highlighted the compound risks faced by the North Africa and Middle East region as its precarious state institutions struggle to meet the challenges related to water scarcity and mismanagement.
Armed conflict, the displacement of millions and ongoing upheavals have sorely tested the ability of all MENA countries to meet immediate and more long-term water challenges.
“Existing water management systems, already plagued by weak governance, limited resources, and degraded infrastructure, are now failing when they are needed the most,” the report warned.
In Iraq, water management issues, combined with weak state institutions and a situation of armed conflict, fuelled instability.
The World Bank-FAO report points out that “as water issues are left unaddressed, their impact increases, eroding government legitimacy and destabilising fragile contexts.” Better water management should be part of post-conflict reconstruction efforts.
Abdessalam Ould Ahmed, assistant director-general of the FAO, called for a public service-private sector partnership that could muster the means for better water management, the creation of jobs and alleviation of the burden of frayed state institutions.
He also called for more cooperation between Arab countries and MENA nations.
“A regional collaborative approach is necessary, as surface and groundwater resources often cross national borders,” he said.

JEYPORE: Rains on Thursday night brought some relief to the farmers of Jeypore who have been facing water scarcity for their paddy crop.
Three hours of rain in the night has improved the field situation to some extent.
Authorities of Upper Kolab project had decided to supply irrigation water in Jeypore, Borrigumma, Kotpad and Kundra command areas for the kharif crop season that began in June.
Farmers informed that all the pockets of Jeypore sub-division got rains and it improved the crop condition.
Meanwhile, paddy procurement for the kharif marketing season began in the district on Friday.
Registered farmers can sell their produce directly to primary agriculture cooperative societies (PACS) in the mandis.
The procured paddy will be provided by PACS to millers for custom milling.
The millers have demanded that the State Civil Supply Corporation should provide them gunny bags to stock paddy in the mandis after procurement, facilities to transport procured paddy from mandis to milling points and clearance of their dues by the district civil supply office, among other things.
After being assured of irrigation water, farmers cultivated 45,000 ha in the ayecut areas In the absence of irrigation water and rain, crops in over 20,000 hectares of land were on the verge of drying up Water supply from Upper Kolab project had slowed down in the last fortnight Siltation and damages blocked water flow in canals to crop lands at tail ends (Get the news that matters from New Indian Express on WhatsApp.
Click this link and hit ‘Click to Subscribe’.

New York designers Agency-Agency and Chris Woebken have created a series of bright blue plumbing fixtures that could turn the city’s fire hydrants into public drinking fountains or showers.
The conceptual project, dubbed New Public Hydrant, was developed over summer 2018 in response to a brief from the Water Futures research programme organised by Brooklyn creative space A/D/O.
Curated by Jane Withers, the initiative aims to find design responses to the world’s increasingly pressing water scarcity issues.
"Water Futures aims to inspire the creative community to take action in reimagining our toxic drinking water culture," according to the dedicated website.
"While New York City is one of only five major cities in the country with a high enough water quality that does not require filtration, this fact is often neglected in favour of purchasing filtered water in plastic bottles," said Agency-Agency, who teamed up with Woebken on the project.
Four shallow dishes at various heights would allow adults, children, dogs, and birds to drink the city water.
Next in the series, Hydrant on Tap is a refill station for reusable water bottles.
These would also the users to control the water flow.
"You can actually use the valve to control the water pressure as well depending on how you turn it," Carpenter said.
Photography is by Tei Carpenter and Chris Woebken.

Residents of Ogudu are lamenting the scarcity of water in the area as the Lagos State Water Corporation had for more than three weeks stopped supplying water to Ogudu.
A resident of the area, Omoniyi Ojo, told The Guardian that for the three weeks of no water supply, the community has had to heavily rely on water vendors pushing carts, popularly known as Meruwas.
Yet the situation got worse last Saturday as the Meruwas themselves couldn’t get water to hawk.
“The price for a keg (25 litres) of water, which was before N100 for the 10 jerrycans in their cart suddenly rose to N50 for each keg.
Shortly before the scarcity situation became severe, it rose again to N100 for a keg, which is N1,000 for a whole cart.
“The issue is nobody is talking.
As at this moment there is still no water except for places dependent on borehole and wells like River Valley and Morgan Estates.
The others like Akiode, Budland Road, and Omole estate are without water.
A few houses with wells have had to allow neighbours fetch from their wells.” When contacted, an official of the state’s water corporation, who pleaded for anonymity, said they are aware of the situation.
“The problem is that there is a major fault with their facility there as against what a resident said regarding not having diesel to pump water.