A curse in disguise

We are in a situation where the urban population is enjoying the prolonged spell of rains, while those in the rural areas are facing a lot of difficulties. Those from the north, who depend on rains for irrigation and sow the Rabi crops late, are fine with these late rains. On the other hand, these rains might be worrisome for farmers of lower southern region where Rabi crops are sown earlier and the harvesting season is fast approaching.They look forward to dry sunny spells at this time. More problematic is the fact that in the absence of dams for appropriate water storage facilities, we might face water shortages for Kharif crops, despite current rains. It is ironic that at one point we suffer due to heavy rains, and then face acute water shortage throughout the rest of the year. Unless we build dams, we will keep going through this tragedy of either facing water shortages or floods year-round. It is time we realised this and worked to fix the problem on a priority basis.Raja ShafaatullahIslamabad

from The News International - Newspost https://ift.tt/2VBjZGm