'Country may be declared water short by 2010'

Pakistan could be declared a water short country by 2O10, if sufficient reservoirs are not constructed, Federal P1anning Commission Chief Engineer Asjad Imtiaz Ali said. Per capita water availability in Pakistan has dramatically reduced from 5,600 cubic meters per person in 1946 to only 1,200 cubic meters in 2005, he said.
The water availability would likely to reach up to 1,000 cubic meters per person soon. According to world standards, if per capita water availability decreases from 1,000 cubic meters per person then the country is declared as water short country, he told PTV.
The construction of big reservoirs across the country is necessary to meet not only country' s domestic needs but to prevent future floods also, he said.
Government was taking a number of steps to build water reservoirs in the country. Level of Mangla dam was also being raised.
The storage capacity of Gomal, Meerani, Subakzai, Satpara dams would he four million-acre feet (maf) water. These dams would irrigate 223,000 acres 1and, he added.