The Lahore High Court Chief Justice here on Tuesday disposed of suo motu notice and petition against presence of arsenic in drinking water of tubewells in the city. The case was disposed of after MD Wasa informed the court that contract for installation of filtration plant in each union council of the city has been awarded to NESPAK which has already started work on the project.
The CJ asked authorities concerned to utilise funds allocated for drinking water and ensure provision of drinking water to citizen. Advocate Mateenul Haq Chaudhry, who filed petition had pointed out that during electricity loadshedding the Lahorites were not being provided water. He said Wasa claimed to have installed power generators on tubewells to ensure smooth supply even during loadshedding but the situation was different.
Former CJ Khawaja Muhammad Sharif had taken suo motu notice last year on the public interest matter and Advocates Mateenul Haq and Muhammad Sohail Dar had filed writ petitions pointing out that due to dirty drinking water people of the city were suffering from hepatitis and other diseases. The environmental protection department through a report revealed that out of 392 as many as 253 tubewells of the Wasa were supplying arsenic contaminated water posing serious health hazards to citizens.