82 percent of drinking water not safe for consumption: National Assembly body informed

Federal Minister for Science and Technology Rana Tanveer said on Tuesday that 82 percent of drinking water in the country is not safe for consumption whereas bottle water available at markets is also substandard. This, he stated, while briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Science and Technology, which met with Usman Saifullah Khan in the chair.
The minister said that Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) is a research institution, which was established in 1964. It has five regional offices in the country where water and soil tests are being carried out, he said. However due to meagre budget allocation, research work of PCRWR is being negatively affected, the minister added.
Tanveer informed the committee members that the government is planning to provide filtration plants across the country and work in this regard would be initiated soon. The committee expressed serious reservations over the prevailing situations and said that there in not sufficient drinking water in the country. The committee recommended an increase in the PCRWR funds. The committee chairman said that next meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) is likely to be held in February and recommended that the matter should be taken up in the meeting. He said that in such situations emergency for drinking water needs to be imposed.
Secretary Science and Technology proposed that all provinces need to conduct water audit. The committee also unanimously recommended that action should be taken against all such institutions which are found involved in selling substandard packed drinking water.