Lack of proper planning, research, indifferent attitude of authorities are basic reasons of contamination of drinking water, experts said. They told Business Recorder that water quality in Punjab province is deteriorating and immediate measures are needed before the situation becomes more serious.
Quoting a study by Unicef, they said that a reasonable number of Punjab's population was exposed to high arsenic concentration in their drinking water, which caused severe health problems. About deterioration in groundwater quality, they said it was due to disposal of untreated domestic and industrial waste in rivers and canals especially in Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Kasur, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and other main urban towns.
They further said that about 90 percent water supply schemes in rural areas are not based on holistic approach, which affects the water quality over the years. Health professionals said that 99 percent of reported cases of Hepatitis-A and E are due to the arrival of polluted water into affected drinking and sanitation systems. Apart from this, people are facing other health problems due to contaminated water, they added.
Sources in Pakistan Muslim League-N told this scribe that Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif is determined to betterment of masses and would leave no stone unturned to improve lot of the down trodden. "Mian Shahbaz Sharif during his first tenure as Punjab Chief Minister had taken revolutionary steps for provision of clean drinking water, laid network of roads across the province, rooted out ghost educational institutions and eliminated 'booti mafia", the sources said.
A PML-N leader Neelam said that Rs 8 billion have been allocated in the current fiscal year for clean water supply, whereas, Rs three billion would be spent for the up-gradation of drainage and sewerage system of five big cities in the province. Further, a sum of Rs 2 billion would be spent for the provision of better atmosphere in Katchi Abadies of the province, she said, adding the government has evolved a comprehensive strategy for the supply of clean & safe drinking water to the masses.
She said that water-testing laboratories would also be set up even in the small towns of the province to ensure provision of clean water to the masses. A PML-N leader Shahbaz Haider said: "peoples prayers and loyalties are with him in his struggle for the betterment of masses." He said Shahbaz Sharif committed to the well being of masses would succeed in leading people out of atmosphere of despondency in which they were pushed due to dictatorial rule.
Shahbaz Haider said Shahbaz Sharif in his first speech, after taking over as Chief Minister not only spoke of the problems facing the masses but also suggested their solution. Another PML-N leader Sajjad Hussain Chheena said that Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif has the vision and ability to overcome crisis.
Though it would take sometime to overcome price hike and other problems created by Q-League government due to its wrong policies, yet the PML-N leadership would not disappoint masses, he said, adding that if hurdles are not created by President House, effective steps taken by the provincial Chief Executive would soon start yielding results and there would be no crisis whatsoever.
He said reforms introduced by Punjab government in education; health and agri sector would go a long way in providing relief to masses. Moreover, Minister for Population Welfare Punjab Ms Neelam Jabbar Chaudhry said that the government is attaching top priority to the supply of clean and safe drinking water to the masses. She said clean water is essential for human health because it prevents the spread of fatal diseases like gastroenteritis, hepatitis and typhoid etc.
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