Down the Drain

APRIL 2001 - To say that we are ever prepared for any crisis would just about be the understatement of the decade where we are concerned. As and when things have gone wrong, we have seen nothing but chaos and mayhem all around. Although we are not a calamity-ridden country – one would have to ignore the frequent takeovers of the country by the armed forces, we have had quite a few nationwide scares like the Ojri Camp which miraculously never produced a culprit. But if you pause to think of what other countries face and replace them with Pakistan, you have to stop thinking because it is not even imaginable what we would do – or as is usually the case here, not do, were a serious disaster to strike us. A country where people cannot even get into a bus without causing a disturbance and where everyone is single mindedly concerned only about getting ahead, our chances of coping would roughly be the same as an intelligent conversation with Mian Nawaz Sharif.

This water crisis has been brewing for years and nothing has been done to tackle it. Now, when the crisis is in full fury, some kind of thinking on the tricky subject is slowly materializing, but if anyone is thinking that the issue is being attacked on a war footing, banish the thought. Action of the right kind at the right time is an alien concept and most red-blooded Pakistanis would rather keel over then do the right thing the first time around. It may not be entirely correct, but surely we must rank pretty high when it comes to wasting water. There is absolutely no comprehension about saving things, water included and if we have the lowest savings rate in the world, it should no longer surprise anyone.

There is this national pastime of washing cycles, scooters, motorbikes, rickshaws, cars, buses, trucks and anything else that has wheels and moves. Perhaps pastime is not correct because it is very much an obsession and it has everyone in thrall – cycle riders to the big truckers. The driving ambition is, wash, wash, wash. All day long, people with a dedicated look, constantly wash things. They start washing from day break and they never seem to stop. When they run out of things to wash, they start washing themselves and this may go on indefinitely. Other than service stations where owners stand for hours watching their beloved vehicles get a dousing over and over again, first with a jet spray, then a second dose after the vehicle has been thoroughly soaped, then all the undersides washed and washed and washed, then the engine which receives the same beauty treatment and in case you are going the ala carte route, a liberal spray of kersosene oil to bring luster to the engine, followed by more washing. Some owners even have the boots emptied out and washed – although these are known as ‘dickies’ here and caused an American friend hysterics when she found out. Others, not quite done with dickies, even have the doors washed. That leaves seats and carpeting and it is not unusual to see four seats and assorted carpeting getting the good old aqua bashing while benign owners watch in ecstasy.

Repeat this exercise daily in hundreds of service stations and over thousands of vehicles and you can perhaps comprehend the enormous amount of good water going down the drain, literally. This is a colossal waste of a precious resource but almost everyone I know, has absolutely no compunction about getting their vehicles washed. Almost all cars are washed everyday at homes and offices as well, before you and I get into them and in slightly damp conditions drive off. There may be rain imminent but the vehicle will still be washed and so will the tyres, soaped, brushed and rinsed even if there is a pond of stagnant water three feet outside your front door. No one seems to understand that a dry engine is a happy engine. Even a dusty, dry engine is a happy engine. It may not look like a million dollars, but it will stay good if it stays drive. Perhaps a jet of air for the more fastidious minded would suffice, but before you can say a word, out come the implements and down goes the resource.

While we have wasted no time in manufacturing ice lollies that deliver death and destruction and now adorn crossings in small and large towns, proud trophies designed and produced by those who think that the more arms we have, the more secure we would be, scientists have not even designed a single thing that can control water consumption. For instance, WCs consume an enormous amount of good quality water but to the best of my knowledge, their water-reservoir and delivery system is the same as it was always. So while the ceramic industry has gone places, the basics have remained rooted. This may have been fine except we have a shortage of water, which contrary to what all good Pakistanis think, is a problem that’s not going to go away. While all this has been going on, there has hardly been any education worth the name, other than the once in three years small print ad with a tap and a muddled appeal to save water. We all know that such flat and placid appeals don’t do much for the people. So unless we all understand that depleting water resources are going to affect everyone, nothing is going to happen, but because we are unable to see the larger picture, I am afraid that we will be engulfed in the crisis – we are even now and in the end the solution will be to offer prayers and seek forgiveness, having done nothing on our own account. Perhaps the ummah might as well add the Pakistan cricket team to its prayers and have it placed before Kashmir.

In the meantime, wanton wastage of all resources continues. There isn’t a home in Pakistan that doesn’t have gas leakages. Even classy restaurants in Lahore have a healthy amount of gas squeezing out of poor connections. Thousands of water faucets drip and most people leave gas stoves on and taps running while they do this and that. We treat electricity the same way. The most educated and socially ‘aware’ among us will think nothing of switching off lights or fans when they leave rooms. Aircons are turned so high that unless there are blankets around, the inmates are likely to catch a chill before the night is over. There is a recklessness and gross indifference that is rampant amongst all of us. That explains the pollution, the garbage dumps (want to know where Lahore’s garbage goes daily?), the plastic bags epidemic and the end of our great rivers now in full swing. But then does it really matter? There is still gas and taps when opened still produce water, so what is the problem?