Imagine a scorching summer day when you turn on the tap and no water comes out. There would be no water to drink, wash, bathe and cook. It sounds scary, right?

Now imagine a whole city or country running out of water. The people in the country would be frightened. The available water bodies would dry up, crops would fail and people would go thirsty. Unfortunately, this isn’t just a science fiction story or movie, because many countries around the world are already bearing the brunt of such a situation. Yes, they are actually going through this. Water isn’t just something we use, it is life and it is who we are. We all have learnt in our science books that our body is made up of 70 percent water. It is present in every tear we shed and every leaf we touch. Our heart, brain, blood and enzymes need an aqueous medium to keep us alive. To be more specific, humans are literally walking containers of water.

Many unfortunate kids in different parts of the world have to travel extra miles to fetch water. In the Middle East, for example, the governments have installed very expensive desalination plants to convert salty sea water into drinkable water. People in Tharparkar, Sindh, and major cities of

Balochistan province, such as Turbat, Gwadar, Chaghi and Quetta, face severe water shortages around the year. Sometimes these desperate people need to wait for days to get water from tankers or to stand in long queues to get a pint of water.

Water is so priceless that many countries would often fight for, have debates on and, on top of that, wage war for it. Recently, we have witnessed the escalating tension between India and Pakistan over the Indus River basin water. Given that it is one of the biggest rivers of South Asia, it waters fields and plants, fills taps and supports life for millions of people in Pakistan and India.

In 1960, a treaty was signed between Pakistan and India to distribute the river water properly. As per the treaty, India got the right to the eastern rivers, — Ravi, Sutlej and Beas, and Pakistan got the western ones, Indus,........

© Dawn Young Magazine