Water Scarcity and Social Well-being of People in Makran Tariq Ali 1 Wasif Ali 2 Shahnaz 3 Abstract Water scarcity is connected to food, health and other life-security issues. More importantly, water is the most basic human need and also a key to eradicating poverty and bringing economic growth. This article focuses on how water scar- city has had a big impact on the social well-being of the people in the Makran region of Balochistan. The main purpose of this article is to help policymakers and leaders better understand the perceptions of people about how drought has impacted households in the Gwadar region. The research for this article was conducted using a qualitative research design in which in-depth semi-structured interviews were used for data collection. Keywords Water scarcity, social dimensions, water resources, water resource management Introduction: Addressing the Water Scarcity Crisis in Makran Makran is a coastal region of Balochistan, Pakistan, that is geographically impor- tant. It is 1,000 km from the Gulf of Oman. It connects with Iran in the west and Karachi through Labella. Makran is also known as Kech Makran to distinguish it from the Iranian regions. Currently, it hosts the mega-project ‘Gwadar Port’—part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor. Most of the people in Makran do not have access to clean water sources. This has created a number of hurdles for people’s domestic needs. Women and girls suffer because there is no proper Article Indian Journal of Public Administration 1–8 © 2019 IIPA Reprints and permissions: in.sagepub.com/journals-permissions-india DOI: 10.1177/0019556119844578 journals.sagepub.com/home/ipa 1 M.Phil Scholar, University of Management and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan. 2 Director, Centre for Sustainable Development Lahore, University of Management and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan. 3 M.Phil Scholar, University of Balochistan, Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan. Corresponding author: Tariq Ali, M.Phil Scholar, University of Management and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan. E-mail: tariqnoor266@gmail.com