Pakistan: Balochistan suffers acute drinking water crisis

Major parts of Balochistan province in Pakistan are suffering an acute shortage of drinking water as the filtration plants installed by the regime have gone out of order due to poor maintenance, The Express Tribune reported. The report quoted a civil society member who said, "Only 25 per cent of Balochistan's dwellers have access to clean drinking water." Locals have urged the government to restore the non-functional water filtration plants so that they can have access to drinking water. Earlier, Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo had ordered the authority concerned to repair the out-of-order filtration plants within a month. Resolving the water issue was a top priority of the government as it had established water filtration plants in every district of the province to provide clean drinking water but they went out of order due to poor maintenance, Bizenjo had said. This is not the first time that Pakistan has been struggling with water shortages. Earlier, Jiye Sindh Quami Mahaz (JSQM) has taken out protest rallies against water shortage in the Sindh province. The leaders while addressing the rally had alleged that Punjab province was conspiring to dry up Indus. They also bemoaned that the Punjab government has never gone by the 1991 water treaty on the distribution of water. The protestors also said that the elites associated with Pakistan People's Party (PPP) in Sindh continue getting water, however, others who are without any influence and political connection, suffer. (IANS)