Patriot Report
Islamabad: Once it was Rotee Kapra Aur Makan but this time it is another basic human need — Safe Drinking Water — that can play a vital role in shaping the contours of Election 2018.
Safe drinking water is a basic human need and can aptly be termed as one of the fundamental and human right but unfortunately although the lack of this facility has literally eviscerate the fabric of our society yet it is found nowhere in the national political narrative as we are addicted to side step the human issues and our sound and fury always becomes a whimper when it comes to human rights and human needs.
Statistics released by Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources, published in 2012, reveal that 88% of the functional water supply schemes in Pakistan provide water that is unsafe for drinking because of microbiological contamination and only 12 % of the schemes are safe and discerning readers must not forget that it’s all about functional schemes, what to talk about the semi functional schemes or other sources.
According to Ministry of Planning and Development Government of Pakistan increased arsenic, nitrate and fluoride contamination was detected in drinking water in various localities in Pakistan therefore the waterborne diseases are rampant and more than three million Pakistanis become infected with waterborne diseases The Pakistan Council of Research and Water Resources (PCRWR) reveals that 40 percent of all reported illnesses are water-related. An estimate states that 200,000 children in Pakistan die every year due to diarrhoeal diseases alone
Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) has revealed that 28 out of 33 filtration plants in the federal capital were providing unsafe, contaminated water.
It is crowed that in Islamabad and Rawalpindi the water is safe but the reality is that 28 out of 33 filtration plants in the federal capital are reportedly providing unsafe and contaminated water.
According to a study conducted by Preston institute of Nano science and technology that 21 (38%) out of 55 samples were found contaminated with heterotrophic bacteria.
You can visit different localities of Islamabad including the posh areas and you can witness people standing in queue on filtration plants but no one is sure whether they are working properly or not. If this is the situation in the capital I wonder if we need an Ian stein to tell us what is in the offing.
The issue is worsening the day in and the day out but the ruling coterie is still indifferent to this alarming situation. The sooner the government comes out of this state of denial the better.
What experts and politicians says?
Speaking regarding the severe water shortage that Pakistan is facing Ex-Chairman Wapda Shamsul Mulk said that water scarcity is the biggest threat facing Pakistan and stressed the importance of building water reservoirs on emergency basis including the controversial Kalabagh Dam.
Awami National Party (ANP) leader Haji Muhammad Adeel however had a different opinion and said that Kalabagh issue should be put to bed as it will cause friction between provinces and said that instead the government should look for alternate projects.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan commenting on government’s priorities said that problems like water shortage are not even on the government’s list and soon we will run of food and other basic necessities too if the ruling party remains in power.
Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN)’s Shakeel Awan rubbished the impression that the ruling party is not serious about solving the water crisis plaguing the entire country specially the twin cities said that the government is tackling the issue on priority basis.
