By Farzeen Amin
Water is the most essential component for human beings to survive. Pakistan has recently faced one of the worst water crises in the country. Unfortunately, Pakistan is already in the list of Water Scarce countries and we are not ready to cope up with this challenge at all. However, the government and other departments of Pakistan have started a campaign to make the damn for water storage yet these measures are not enough to prevent the prevailing situation.
Water crisis is evident from the condition of places like “Thar”. The desert region is drying up and people are losing the battle of life due to lack of drinking water. Hundreds of Children in the region have already lost valuable lives due to water scarcity. Moreover, the example of Karachi is not hidden from anyone where people have to buy money on very high rates for the drinking purpose and do perform the daily chores just as washing, laundry etc.
The government is trying to find the solution of the problem but it is not enough to completely rely on the government. Despite of the scarcity of water in Pakistan we witness people waste loads of water every day. All of us have to play an important and influential role in order to at least delay the crisis. It is very easy to criticize the government and other institutions of the state but the need of the hour is to take responsibility. All of us are responsible to counter the water shortage. We must understand our own role in the crisis and change our attitude towards the issue for the good.
In this alarming situation we can play an important role by changing our attitude and adopting efficient ways of using the water.
- The One bucket Policy
It has become our routine to waste the water in every work we do at domestic and larger levels. The prime example of this is washing houses or washing the cars. The taps run openly for hours for no reason and all the water gets wasted. Remember you cannot bring this water back now so make a habit of using a bucket for one purpose. The rule is simple and easy to understand “one bucket for one purpose.
I have experienced it myself that one full bucket of water is ample of washing and cleaning a standard size houses rather than wasting gallons of water. Use one bucket of water for washing your car and make is a habit. It will really help to save the water.
- Close the Tap when Brushing Teeth
Have you noticed that we need playing with water with tab open while brushing our teeth or leave the tap open for no reason? I never really know I was doing it until someone made me realize how much water is being wasted in those 2 to 3 minutes of teeth brushing. So keep the tab closed while you are brushing the teeth and only open it in the end when you actually need water.
- Careful Laundry
It is one of the most common site that people leave the water running on the clothes for so long. We need to learn the efficient ways of doing laundry. It is good to use minimal water while washing the clothes. You can simply soak your clothes in a bucket before washing them and it will make it easy for you to clean them quickly. You may also use lesser detergents so that you do not require a lot of water to drain it from clothes. Remember not to leave the water running in pipes and taps.
- Lesser Utensils
We cannot simply skip the works with water to prevent the shortage but we can always find better ways to use less water. Do not mess up your kitchen with numerous utensils while cooking so that you have to wash less plates, bowls and glasses. It is best to clean plates with little soapy water at first so that when you open the tab you don’t have to wait for the stains to go away.
- Repair the Taps
Every house in our country has at least one tap that keeps on leaking. Apparently it looks like only few drops of water being wasted but actually it is a lot of water. You can measure it by putting a bucket under it for few hours and you will notice that the bucket will be full of water in no time. So we must repair all the leaking taps of the home.
- Smaller showers
It is good to take a fresh start of the day by taking shower but our ways of taking flower is also wrong. We keep the shower running while we are soaping our bodies or rinsing shampoo in our hair. The water continuously gets wasted away in the process so keep the shower off when you are not using the water. Moreover, you must take small showers rather than planning everything in the shower.
The ways to save water might seem funny to some people but once we apply these simple tips to save water we will actually be able to see the difference in the situation. No matter how smaller you think your role is but you must take responsibility to save water and save Pakistan.
