Budget Ignores Most Pressing Problems: Mian Zahid Hussain
Umer Jamshaid Published June 14, 2021 | 06:05 PM
Climate change, water scarcity threat to national security, Water, climate problems attract only Rs116 billion
Karachi (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th April, 2021) Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Monday said the most pressing issues of water scarcity and climate change threatening national security has been ignored in the budget.
Pakistan is among the countries badly hit by climate change while water scarcity has become a national security issue but the total allocation for these sectors is Rs 116 billion which is insufficient.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that climate change has resulted in floods and drought hitting millions of farmers and resulting in food security issues and tensions among provinces.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that fifty districts of the country are facing acute water shortage leading to food imports worth billions of dollars which is fanning hunger.
He said that the global average of water storage by countries is almost 40 percent while Pakistan can store enough for requirements of ten days which result in wastage of 20 million acre-feet of water worth 20 billion dollars.
If the government can save some rainwater, it will improve the level of groundwater which is going down rapidly resulting in increased cost of doing business for farming communities and industrial sector.
He said that water-intensive crops should not be promoted for political benefits as importing the same will not only save water but it will be cheaper for the masses.
The Water Policy of 2018 has failed to deliver therefore it should be revamped, he demanded.
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