Due to the on-going floods across the country water is contaminated in the affected areas and there is apprehension that waterborne diseases could spread. "Before the floods only 20 percent of water was drinkable and after the floods the situation has become even worse", said chairman Pakistan Council of Research in water Resources (PCRWR) Dr Muhammed Aslam Tahir here on Thursday.
He was addressing a joint press briefing organised by all the three major institutes of Ministry of Science & Technology including Pakistan Council of Research in water Resources (PCRWR), Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) and Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) on Relief Acidities, Initiatives and Preventives.
Dr Tahir said that the government is spending Rs 16 billion annually on import of medicines for waterborne diseases, however, after floods ratio of contaminated water has increased alarmingly. "Now this is time to revise policy regarding the drinking water as the situation has become more disastrous than in the African countries", said the chairman PCRWR.
He said that PCRWR has already distributed 0.7 million liters chlorinated drinking water among the flood affectees of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces, which would further increase to 1 million liters per day. In addition, in collaboration with UNICEF and USAID, four water treatment plants have been installed. Out of which, one plant has been installed in Nowshehra to serve the 15,000 people. The others are being installed and will be functioning soon, he added.
He appealed the affectees to use chlorinated drinking water to avoid waterborne diseases. The Chairman PCSIR Dr Tanzil Haider Usmani said that PCSIR laboratories in Peshawar, Karachi and Lahore are looking after their respective provinces and supplying meal and drinkable items, besides dry milk, ORS, high calorie biscuits, flour, sugar, tea and medicines, shoes, cloths etc.
Most of these items are being produced by PCSIR laboratories based upon their research and development activities, Dr Usmani added. Chairman PSF Dr Manzoor Hussain Soomro said that PSF has mobilised its science caravans located at various places in the flood-affected areas to provide manpower and logistic support to science and technology organisations. He said that in the next phase the PSF aims to help rebuild schools and colleges destroyed in the floods. This end can be achieved by the provision of both human and monetary resources by the PSF, he added.