Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Can't Stop Water To Pakistan

China does not have a right to block the Bramhaputra. China, India and Bangladesh have to agree to share the waters of that large river. Similarly, there are rivers that originate in India but flow through Pakistan to ultimately fall into the Arabian Gulf. Those are shared rivers. India can not unilaterally block the water flow. For one, it is illegal. And it is inhumane.

Water is about to become an issue. This past summer the seventh-largest city in India - Chennai down south - saw major water shortage. Chennai is far far from Pakistan.

Kashmir is a thorny enough problem. Let's not add water to that fire.

Don't blame Pakistan for global warming. Pakistan is itself a victim. Due to global warming glaciers in the Himalayas have been melting faster than they ought.

What to do?

Fight global warming by planting a trillion trees, and fast. Use rain harvesting techniques. That is a great way to collect water. India should become a less agricultural country. India should move up the economic food chain and should embark upon a clean energy led industrialization.

But whatever you do, don't block the water flow to Pakistan.

Clean energy technologies are seeing such exponential advances in terms of both quality and cost, desalination is going to become a very real option for both countries before the decade is out.

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