Impure tap water

Letter August 19, 2015
The tap water is so impure that no one uses it in their homes for drinking purposes

ISLAMABAD: The water purification plants, established in various sectors of Islamabad between 2007 and 2008, have been overlooked by the civic authorities, with the purification system becoming non-functional, taps leaking, water reeking of bad smell, and drains clogged and filled with fungus, resulting in waterborne diseases. People, having no alternative, rely on the water from these so-called water filtration plants. According to newspaper reports quoting the Pakistan Council of Water Resources (PCRWR) — a government body formed to research and report on pure water — only two water purification plants provide safe drinking water in the capital. One of these plants is located at sector H-8, near the PCRWR facility, and the other is located at Jinnah Park, Islamabad.

The tap water is so impure that no one uses it in their homes for drinking purposes. Rather, people flock to the water filtration plants in an effort to drink comparatively safe water. Monolithic organisations, such as the Capital Development Authority, do not bother maintaining the capital’s assets. Although the local bodies elections might solve the problem, I still request the Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif and Member of the National Assembly from Islamabad Asad Umer to address the issue.

Shahidur Rehman

Published in The Express Tribune, August 19th, 2015.

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