Solution to water problems stressed

Pakistan will be facing serious challenges regarding quality and quantity of water if the issue was not taken on urgency basis.
This was stressed by Subh-e-Nau, a civil society group of environment activists, on the occasion of World Environment Day.
Environment Day was observed on Saturday the world over with the theme "Wanted! Seas and Oceans Dead or Alive-Dead or Alive"?
Water issues in Pakistan loomed large on this occasion with environmentalists pressing for urgent measures for efficient water and water conservation.
"Water issues need to be taken on urgent basis since our very existence is dependent on this," said the chairperson of the organisation "Subh-e-Nau" Shahida Kausar Farooq.
"Water situation has gone worse to the end where the whole world has arisen to tackle the challenge. We must rise to the call of the hour," she added.
She said Hyderabad is one sad example where water contamination claimed valuable lives.
However, the activists feared occurrence of many such examples in future if "quality of drinking water was not taken seriously."
Commenting on the increasing incidence of pollution in seas and rivers, Subh-e-Nau criticised authorities for not checking dumping of sewage and industrial toxins into the sea.
They referred to the loss to environment because of Tasman Spirit oil spill saying "experts fear the damage to the marine environment is beyond repair for the next 500 years.
The group quoted studies that only during last year "water shortages in Sindh alone destroyed 5,000 lakes, left one million people unemployed and forced 100,000 families to migrate to other areas."
Wastage of water has also been fund to be very high at 40 percent in the country. Water wastage statistics indicate serious planning and implementation flaws.
The group said "more than 50 million liters water is being wasted in a city like Islamabad that is considered to be more planned than any other city."
It said situation in Karachi was even worse since reports varied, however, "the daily water loss was reported many times more than Islamabad in various studies."