ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) has said water is often contaminated and getting scarce in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The government should look for alternative sources and there is need for awareness among the population as well.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government in last July released a report about availability of water in government-run health facilities, which found that 50 percent of the 1500 health outlets did not have water.
“Water supply” in 25 percent of facilities is contaminated. Dr. Akbar said, who spearheaded the campaign to know about water availability in health facilities of the 26 district, told PCSIR.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa public health engineering department admits that people are experiencing water scarcity and contamination not only in hospitals but also in schools, colleges, offices and houses as water management is becoming a major crisis.
The government has started chlorination of all the tube-wells in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA.
Nearly half of the beds in hospitals are occupied by patients suffering from gastroenteritis, diarrhoea and other diseases caused by the consumption of untreated water.
The situation is slums is even worse as people living in them often have to fetch water from distant places. People are asked to boil water before use but most of the population is poor and illiterate.
PCSIR’S official, Jahangir Shah, fear a further scarcity of water in view of rapid depletion of resources.
“In next 10 year, we can face shortage if the situation remains unchanged. There is an urgent need to search for alternative water resources, the government should adopt best water management practices and awareness among the population should be scaled up”, he said.
Source: APP
