The Round Lake, 2022, Zayan Agha
In the year 2030, two sisters, Noreen & Hafsa live in a community without water. Water is supplied only once in two weeks by a water tanker that no longer meets their needs. When two weeks pass with no sign of the water supplier, Noreen & Hafsa take to the streets where queues of parched community members await the water tanker. The Round Lake depicts Pakistan’s vulnerability to climate change and its grave threat to socially and economically disadvantaged groups. In 2022, Pakistan was one of the top most water stressed countries in the world. Water scarcity is one of the most major issues facing Pakistan. Despite the severity of problems like overpopulation, rapid urbanization and rising sea levels, the situation is deteriorating and It is estimated that by 2025, Pakistan will run severely dry. However, water scarcity threatens vulnerable communities with the harshest consequences. Millions of people in Pakistan turn to water tank trucks. The crisis has put a huge price tag on water that the lower income communities cannot afford, making it a commodity, a prized possession and as valuable as gold.