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Cities Sinking in Pakistan's Baluchistan Province

Ayaz Gul

   ISLAMABAD - Local and American experts warn unchecked groundwater
   extraction in major urban centers in Pakistan's Baluchistan province
   has triggered the sinking of the land at a rate of 10 centimeters a
   year, causing cracks in buildings, roads, and agricultural fields.

   The land subsidence is occurring in numerous locations in northern
   parts of Baluchistan, including districts of Qilla Abdullah, Pishin,
   Mastung and the provincial capital of Quetta, the largest population
   center in the province.

   The area is arid and groundwater is the only source of water for
   domestic and agricultural use, said Professor Din Muhammad Kakar of the
   University of Baluchistan.

   "We have drawn a lot of water from the subsurface and the
   over-exploration of the groundwater has triggered the phenomenon of
   land subsidence since 2010," said Kakar, who is dean and chairman of
   the department of seismology.

   The collapsing of land has ruptured many old and new buildings in
   Quetta and other areas, including hospitals and schools.

   "There are about a dozen locations in Quetta where cracks as long as
   four kilometers and more than 400 feet deep have appeared, rendering
   the land useless for agriculture and living," Kakar said.

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