KARACHI: Industries across Hub are grinding to a halt as an acute water crisis spirals out of control — even as the Hub Dam stands almost full — with leaders of the Hub Chamber of Commerce & Industry alleging that industries, farmers and residents are being systematically deprived of their due share of water. Ismail Suttar, former president Hub Chamber of Commerce & Industry and President Yakoob H. Karim have issued an SOS appeal to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, urging his immediate intervention to avert what they described as an impending industrial, agricultural and humanitarian crisis. Addressing the issue, they warned that unless water is supplied to Hub’s industries and growing population according to actual demand, several industrial units could be forced to suspend operations within weeks, putting thousands of jobs at risk and dealing a serious blow to the national economy. News Desk
“Hub is the industrial backbone of Balochistan. If industries are deprived of water, production will come to a halt, workers will lose their livelihoods and the country will suffer significant economic losses,” they said.
The chamber leaders noted that Hub contributes more than Rs7 billion annually in taxes to the national exchequer. They cautioned that prolonged water shortages would not only reduce government revenue but also adversely affect exports, investment and industrial growth.
According to the chamber, Hub has only one source of water — the Hub Dam — while Karachi receives water from multiple sources. Despite this, they alleged that Hub continues to receive an inadequate share of water.
They said the current allocation provides 36.7 per cent of the water to Hub and 62.3pc to Karachi, although Hub’s population, cultivated land and industrial base have expanded dramatically over the past four decades.
They recalled that when the water-sharing formula was established in the 1980s, Hub’s population stood at only 20,000, with five industrial units and around 1,000 acres of cultivated land.
Today, they said, the population has exceeded one million, the number of industrial units has risen to approximately 300, and more than 25,000 acres are under cultivation. However, they maintained that Wapda continues to implement a four-decade-old allocation formula that no longer reflects present-day realities.
Ismail Suttar and Yakoob Karim further stated that the Hub Dam is almost at full capacity and, following the ongoing monsoon rains, its spillway gates may once again have to be opened, potentially inundating nearby villages. “Ironically, while excess water may eventually be released from the dam, the people, farmers and industries of Hub are struggling to obtain even their legitimate share,” they said.
The Hub Chamber leaders claimed that industries have been receiving far less water than required for the past two months, forcing many factories to operate well below capacity while others have curtailed production. If the situation persists, they warned, widespread factory closures and a sharp rise in unemployment could become unavoidable.
Mr. Suttar said repeated representations had been made to the relevant authorities, but officials had reportedly stated that the newly appointed Project Director (PD) was still undergoing training.
Meanwhile, he said, hundreds of thousands of residents continue to face severe shortages of drinking water. A large segment of Hub’s population lives below the poverty line and cannot afford to rely on expensive private water tankers.
In their SOS appeal to the prime minister, the chamber leaders called for his personal intervention and urged the federal government to direct Wapda to immediately release additional water to Hub in accordance with the district’s population, agricultural requirements and industrial demand.
They also demanded a comprehensive review of the decades-old water-sharing formula and the introduction of a sustainable allocation mechanism that reflects current demographic and economic realities.
Hub Chamber leadership warned that failure to take immediate corrective measures could plunge Hub into a deep industrial crisis, trigger widespread unemployment, cripple agriculture, and spark a serious humanitarian emergency driven by water scarcity.
