Acumen Fund of the US in partnership with Pharmagen Limited has planned to provide clean drinking water to the people of low income group in less-developed localities of Lahore, Sheikhupura and Kasur. Managing Director, Pharmagen Limited, Parvez Sufi told Business Recorder that with 49 percent of the share, Acumen Fund of the US was a partner of the Pharmagen Healthcare which monitored all the operational matters very closely to ensure compliance of social cause.
He said the Fund was also engaged in other activities including provision of houses to low income families in Pakistan. He said the company had already set up 17 outlets fully equipped with modern filtration plants in less-developed localities of Lahore to provide clean drinking water at highly subsidised rate. "Now, we have planned to increase the outlets to 36 to cover Lahore, Kasur and Sheikhupura districts," he said, and added that people living in Katchi Abadis and less-developed areas of Kasur and Sheikhupura were also facing threat of different diseases on account of using contaminated water.
Kasur homes dozens of tanneries lacking proper treatment facility while Sheikhupura had been emerged in an industrial city that had hundreds units producing chemicals and fertiliser and thus causing pollution. As a result, water in such areas was not fit for human consumption, he maintained.
It is fact that almost 40 percent of all illnesses are attributed to water-borne diseases. The people living in densely populated areas are most affected due to problem, as water supply lines and open sewer drains often lay side by side in the streets. This result in chemical and bacterial contamination of drinking water which caused major health hazards, Sufi added.
Sufi, quoting a report, said Pakistan Water Council collected water samples from 357 sources in the country including 16 from Lahore. Out of those, 80 percent were found contaminated with arsenic while all 16 samples taken from Lahore were found non-fit for human consumption, he said.
He emphasised the need for exempting social enterprises from general sales tax, as they were helping government in providing basic needs to the downtrodden segment of the society. Sufi urged the government, donors and non-governmental organisation to enter into partnership for setting up treatment plant for providing clean drinking water to the people of low income group.
"Though, it is the government's responsibility to provide clean and contamination free potable water to the people, yet we can help government to extend such facility across the province in replicating our model in other districts, he said. Non-governmental organisations, donors and business enterprises under their corporate social responsibility programme can play pivotal role in this regard. We are also ready to work with the National Rural Support Programme for provision of drinkable water in rural areas of the country," he added. To a question, Parvez Sufi said foreign donors were ready to help Pakistan in providing clean drinking water.