KARACHI:
The Pakistan Medical Association recently announced that at least 200 million people — around two-thirds of the population — is deprived of clean drinking water in the country. What is more appalling is that 30% of all diseases and 40% of all deaths occur owing to contaminated water. Sadly, the concerned authorities, that are supposed to enhance the livelihood of citizens, have failed to provide clean drinking water to the masses.
Even though 95% of the water available from the Indus River is used for agriculture and irrigation purposes, it is important to note that plants have a natural capability of filtering out most bacteria and microbes through osmosis. The same is not the case with the human body. Unclean drinking water can be the source of several diseases, with diarrhoea being the most common. The primary source of contamination is fecal waste from sewage lines which seep into drinking water system supplies. Pollution is yet another source as the disposal of toxic chemicals from industrial effluents, pesticides, and fertilisers into the water bodies cause severe contamination.
While the rich and affluent are able to purchase filtered and bottled water at high cost, the poor remain without an alternative. They rely on boiling the water, which alone cannot exterminate majority of the contaminants that may be present. In light of the severity of the situation, the relevant authorities must provide clean drinking water through sustainable means in order to save precious lives and promote a healthy living.
Irfan Rasheed Baloch
Karachi
Published in The Express Tribune, January 3rd, 2021.
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