Grappling with water issues

POOR conservation and management practices are factors largely to blame for water scarcity in this country. It is good to note, therefore, that water conservation projects are receiving due attention from the government. President Pervez Musharraf gave his approval last Friday to what is being described as a revised strategy for National Programme for Improvement of Watercourses (NPIWs), Phase II. Under phase I improvement work included 79,637 watercourses and 6,366 storage tanks. As a result, water availability to tail-enders in the irrigated areas of both Punjab and Sindh has increased significantly. The goal for Phase II is to achieve 100 percent lining of the water courses as well as construction of storage tanks in Balochistan on tubewell, lift irrigation, and canal irrigation projects. And pressurised irrigation systems are to be integrated with water storage tanks constructed according to a prescribed formula. The provinces and the Centre are to share 80 percent of the cost of these projects on an equal basis, ie, 40 percent each, while the farmers are to pay the rest 20 percent, whereas their share was a nominal two percent in Phase I. The idea, it is not hard to guess, has been to create a greater sense of ownership among the farmers. A particularly noteworthy aspect of resource allocations in the previous phase was their need-based formulation with the smaller provinces getting funds over and above their due share. NWFP was the biggest beneficiary, receiving more than 26 percent additional grants, while Balochistan followed close behind with 23 percent extra allotment. Punjab and Sindh saw their funding reduced.
In a way this example lends validity to the provinces’, especially Balochistan’s, perennial demand that the resource distribution formula of the National Finance Commission must not be based on the population criterion alone but also factors such as economic backwardness and resource generation power of a province. Commendable as the government efforts are to prevent seepage and improve storage facilities, we need to better our irrigation practices and techniques as well. As it is, our farmers continue to follow the centuries-old method of flood irrigation. Thus a lot of water goes to waste without providing any special benefit to the crops and plants being watered. We know from the successful experience of certain other countries that the drip irrigation method can work wonders even in semi-desert areas. This particular method has direct relevance to the water thirsty agricultural communities in Balochistan in particular and other provinces in general. It is also important to remember the warnings of experts who say water scarcity is going to emerge as a serious challenge worldwide in not too distant a future. We must start preparing now rather than wait, as is our wont, until a crisis hits us in the face. There is an urgent need to devise a longer-term strategy to deal with our present as well as future requirements that are going to grow manifold with increases both in population and economic activity. Any such strategy must ensure enhanced access to water to general population without compromising on the requirements of conservation.

Besieged Brown

BRITAIN’S Gordon Brown is finding himself increasingly underwhelmed and isolated since he took over from Tony Blair some months ago. Adding to his troubles is the tough stand taken by the supporters of the former prime minister, who, are baying for Brown’s blood. Fresh evidence about the backroom games comes in the form of this Labour bloc setting a May deadline to review Brown’s performance and, if need be, look around for a replacement. What message does it send to the general public, and the party’s own rank and file? Clearly, the Blair faction is doing a disservice to the party when it fails to stand by the leader heading the party’s government, especially at a time when he is on the defensive on more than one front. The fact remains that the alienation of the people from the Labour began when Tony Blair was at the helm. And Brown had to do his best to stem the tide of disapprovals coming in the way of the ruling party, and at the same time, give it a new lease of life and image.
Brown enjoyed very high popularity ratings at the beginning of his innings as PM. Now he is witnessing a sharp decline in his ratings. In all fairness, it was to be expected; at least too an extent. For, Brown’s days of honeymoon with the public, in his capacity as prime minister, are over. Now, he is faced with the grim realities of politics. This is the time for him not only to carry forward a legacy, but also to go an extra mile if only to repair the damage inflicted by his predecessor, especially in the context of Britain’s widely unpopular Iraq military engagement with no matching benefits to the nation. It may be sensible for Labour to grant Brown more time to prove himself as a leader in his own right. A few months are not enough to judge a leader. Moreover, Brown has a standing of his own, with his excellent management of Britain’s financial affairs in his capacity as Chancellor of the Exchequer. If Britain’s economy had to gain further strength, hopes were that Brown was the best bet to lead a government. But, time is of essence. It is one thing to fish in troubled waters; quite another to put up a show of unity and win the hearts and minds of the people. Unity is of top priority for a party on the defensive. By digging Brown’s grave, Blair supporters are only digging the party’s grave and their own too.

—Khaleej Times