Islamabad: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice (CJP) Saqib Nisar said that Tube Wells are causing water shortage in Islamabad.
CJP Saqib Nisar remarked that Tube Well owners are becoming the reason for the water shortage in Islamabad.
He said that people are gaining free water through tube well and selling it to Islamabad’s residents that is creating water shortage.
Earlier, CJP Saqib Nisar took the suo motu notice of the water scarcity in Islamabad.
Officials from the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad, additional attorney general, and tube well owners were present at the hearing.
One of the accused told the court that he does not possess a tube well but the entire cantonment area has lot of tube wells that is causing water scarcity.
He asked the court to release orders for the water supply through the alternate channels before the closure of tube wells.
The Capital Development Authority and Cantonment Board were also not giving support to each other in this matter.
CJP Saqib Nisar said that the tube well owners are the main culprits behind the water shortage.
However, Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad’s representative said that they would implement taxes on the utilization of tube wells.

Gurugram: The difficulties faced by four million residents of Cape Town in South Africa to avoid ‘Day Zero’, a term when city will city completely run out of water, is also being felt in certain Indian cities.
The crisis of water supply to over two million and growing population in Gurugram can be most severe.
The effects of it begin to be felt almost during every summer in the city with large parts reeling under water crisis.
In 1974, where the ground water in Gurugram could be traced at six meters below the ground level, today it has fallen down to levels of 40 meters.
Water scarcity in large parts of the city has resulted in the growth of tanker mafia where water is being sold to the residents at exorbitant rates.
Even as digging of illegal bore wells has been banned by the court, there are over 15,000 illegal bore wells that have been dug up in the city.
In most of the areas in the city, the ground water has fallen to levels of 50 metres.
The challenge towards renewal of falling ground water reserves in the city can be gauged from the fact that over 180 out of 300 water harvesting pits under the Gurugram civic body are defunct.
The government is also planning to set up a waste to energy plant in the area.
There were 4,592 deaths in 2017 due to cancer.

Towards the end of May, one of India’s most popular summer retreats nearly ran out of water.
Shimla, a historic hill town in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, is the latest addition to a list of Indian towns and cities that are starved for water.
Earlier this year Bangalore, home to the country’s information technology sector, made it to a list of world cities most likely to run out of drinking water.
It joins other parched metropolises like Cape Town, Jakarta and Sao Paolo.
Residents of Shimla had to wait nearly four days to get water, with many lining up with buckets to collect water from tankers.
The situation worsened over the following week, pushing authorities to close state schools for five days and to ask tourists to stay away.
India is reeling under a sustained water crisis that shows no signs of abating.
Excessive demand coupled with mismanaged water resources, erratic weather patterns and climate change have led to a sad state of affairs.

The project of kalabagh Dam was abundant because there was no national consensus on its construction.
The campaign’s aggressive and emotional tone even suggests sacrificing a few lives of those who come in the way of this national cause.� "Act now before it is too late" and "Vote for sale price is Kalabagh Dam" are popular slogans attracting youth, contributing emotional sharing to prove their nationalism and patriotism.
The campaign even includes an opinion survey for or against the cause to involve more public interest.
A message reads as titled, "An Appeal for the sake of pakistan, potential locations where dams can be built and given in state’s custody because it is matter of Pakistan’s survival.
And those opposing this cause should be punished under treason law in military courts.
Give your answer in Yes or No".
The move also seems to develop consensus and suggests to shunning differences based on� provincialism, ethnicity and political affiliation for "One Nation One Pakistan.
"� Facebook, Whatsapp and Twitter accounts are major components to reach maximum number of people to build a case containing factual information to sensitize them about this dam’s importance.
The attention of targeted readership is solicited through a message that the dam’s completion would help irrigate the country’s around 170,000 acres of land in both Sindh and Kyhber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
However, the issue has been again raised by the social media which now-a-days quite often set the stage for the news media.

(Disclaimer: The following press release comes to you under an arrangement with PRNewswire.
MUMBAI, NEW DELHI and NEW YORK, June 5, 2018/PRNewswire/ — The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) today launched a CEO Water Alliance (CEWA) initiative to bring together CEOs and other stakeholders to address India’s water challenges.
Ltd., 3M India, WestRock India, PepsiCo India and Nalco Water, an Ecolab company.
(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/700609/USISPF_Logo.jpg ) (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/609785/Ecolab_Logo.jpg ) CEWA brings together CEOs and other diverse stakeholders by providing a unique platform to address water challenges in India by exchanging best practices; implementing technology solutions; and promoting policies for the sustainable use of water.
Water scarcity is impacting several countries across the globe today.
It is estimated that $114 billion in annual sustainable water management investments are needed over the next 15 years to ensure availability of this finite resource.
USISPF member companies created the CEWA initiative to work toward these goals and align with the work with the Government of India to establish an effective policy framework that will ensure a sustainable water future for India.
And industry needs to be a partner to the government on this.
CEWA will work towards preventing incidents that have a detrimental impact on the environment by promoting best practices within and around industrial corridors.
The formation of this CEWA initiative is an outcome of the CEO roundtable event in November 2017, hosted by the U.S. Embassy and Nalco Water, an Ecolab company to promote the importance of water for business continuity, the exchange of best practices and technologies for smart water management.

Founding members of the CEWA include the leaders of Tata Steel, Cargill India Pvt.
Water scarcity is impacting several countries across the globe today.
It is estimated that $114 billion in annual sustainable water management investments are needed over the next 15 years to ensure availability of this finite resource.
USISPF member companies created the CEWA initiative to work toward these goals and align with the work with the Government of India to establish an effective policy framework that will ensure a sustainable water future for India.
And industry needs to be a partner to the government on this.
He further added, "The recent spill of molasses from a sugar mill into the Beas River in Punjab had a devastating impact on the surrounding ecosystem and affected drinking water in neighbouring districts.
CEWA will work towards preventing incidents that have a detrimental impact on the environment by promoting best practices within and around industrial corridors.
By adopting best practices, leveraging cutting-edge technologies, and utilizing the power of digital and data, Indian Industry can reduce their water usage by over 20%, enough to satisfy the drinking water needs of all Indians for a year.
We want CEWA to be the catalyst for such an effort."
The formation of this CEWA initiative is an outcome of the CEO roundtable event in November 2017, hosted by the U.S. Embassy and Nalco Water, an Ecolab company to promote the importance of water for business continuity, the exchange of best practices and technologies for smart water management.

This marks the second dramatic increase in drinking water fees in less than a year for the potentially water scarce country Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail approved measures to increase fees for drinking water by up to 46.5%.
This marks the second rise in drinking water fees for Egypt in less than a year, with a previous increase in drinking water and sewage prices by up to 50% in Aug. 2017.
The recently announced decision to raise fees also includes a 12% increase in sewage fees, as reported by Reuters.
The government argues that spending cuts will help revive the economy, where subsidies have accounted for approximately a quarter of state spending.
According to a recent report on water scarce countries by BBC, Cairo, Egypt, is at risk as the World Health Organization ranks Egypt high among lower middle-income countries with water pollution related deaths and the United Nations predicts critical drinking water shortages for the country by 2025.
The problems stem from agricultural and wastewater pollution of the Nile River, the source of 97% of the country’s water.
While the recent drinking water fee increases are a bid to reduce government spending, residents can hope the additional funding finds its way to improving water quality and addressing water scarcity needs.

ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court of Pakistan has fixed the case regarding the construction of Kalabagh Dam for hearing next week as the water crisis is becoming severe.
During the hearing of a case on Monday regarding the situation of the water resources in the country and construction of new dams, Chief Justice of Pakistan remarked that the apex court would prioritize the water crisis from now onwards.
‘Water crisis is our biggest issue at the moment and we are keeping an eye on the issue,’ asserted the top judge.
He warned that the concerned officials should get ready as the cases regarding water would be heard in respective registries of the apex court next week.
“If we can’t give water to our children, we can’t give them anything,” remarked the judge/ The apex court has also summoned former WAPDA chief Zafar Mehmood and Shamul Mulk to assist the bench in the cases.
According to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report, Pakistan ranks third amongst countries facing water shortages and if the situation is not dealt professionally, the country may have no water by 2025 – just seven years down the lane.
In another report by Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), released in September, the country touched the “water stress line” in 1990 before crossing the “water scarcity line” in 2005 and it would approach “absolute scarcity” levels of water by 2025.

AURANGABAD: Acute water shortage in Marathwada region has forced the administration to supply drinking water to the 749 thirsty villages and 170 hamltes by tankers.
As per the weekly report, the divisional commissioner office sources said a total of 936 water tankers have been supplying water in Marathwada region.
Aurangabad is the worst hit district where 606 water tankers are engaged in quenching the thirst to the 493 villages and 67 hamlets in the district .
The position of the other districts is as follows– in Jalna, 125 tankers have been providing water to 107 villages and 16 hamlets.
In Nanded district , 124 tankers have been supplying water to 78 villages and 66 hamlets.
At least 42 tankers have been supplying water to 37 villages and 13 hamlet to the Parbhani district.
As many as 21 tankers have been supplying water to 19 villages of Hingoli and in Beed, 15 tankers have been supplying water to 12 villages and 4 hamlets and three tankers has been pressed in Latur district.
Following sufficient water in Osmanabad district, there was no any tanker, they said.
As pre monsoon showers lashed in several parts during the past in the past two days in the region, may give relief.
The district administration has so far acquired total 2099 wells for filling the tankers used for supplying water in the division to tackle the water scarcity, the report added.

(Photo | PTI) SHIMLA: Protests continue to rock the Himachal Pradesh capital on Saturday, as the densely populated Kusumpti area continue to reel under acute portable water shortage for the 14th day.
Although no incident of violence was reported in the city, police said.
Hundreds of residents blocked the road leading to the state secretariat, raising slogans against the government and the Shimla Municipal Corporation, both ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
"Despite instructions by the High Court on supplying water in the city on a rotational basis, there is no water supply in this locality.
Residents were out on the streets protesting even late on Friday.
"We are depending on bottled water for cooking and drinking.
There is no water to clean utensils and wash clothes.
I have not taken bath for almost a week now.
A government statement said the civic body received 24.50 million litres per day water on Friday and it was distributed as per the timetable.
It said 1.70 lakh litre water was supplied to different localities through tankers.