The speakers at a seminar on Wednesday advocated for water purification system along with its frequent maintenance to overcome the increasing waterborne diseases. The seminar on "Pure Drinking Water for All" was organised by KK Power International (Private) Ltd, to introduce the innovative water filtration system of Karcher, a Germany company.
Luqman Gill of the company said that they had found increased presence of nitrates in the drinking water in big cities, particularly in Karachi and Islamabad.
According to his presentation, 94 percent tested samples had biological contamination while 34 percent had fecal contamination, he said and warned the biological contamination could cause serious diseases to infants.
A survey report reveals that water was not fit for consumption in 17 big cities, he added. The expert was also concerned about the quality of water being supplied to other parts of the country.
"Water has physical, chemical and biological properties. Water in Pakistan is satisfactory as far as physical properties are concerned, however, chemical and biological contamination is higher," he added. He said 30 to 40 percent diseases in the country are waterborne and almost 100,000 cases of diarrhea are registered in hospitals every year because of unsafe drinking water.
He was of the view that around 250,000 children die every year because of lack of access to safe drinking water. Dr A Siemer an official of the German-based Karcher Company highlighted the water treatment system to the audience and discussed the uses of the technology.