Water contamination found at 29 places

Report says supply lines, sewerage lines were mixed

RAWALPINDI:

The District Health Authority has spotted 29 places in Rawalpindi where the lines of water supply and sewerage have been mixed and water is contaminated, causing cholera and typhoid among the residents.

The authority launched a Public Health Safety Campaign to minimize the cases of cholera and typhoid. The campaign was conducted from January 1 to May 26 and samples of drinking water were collected. After completing the homework, the authority spotted 29 places in Rawalpindi where water was declared contaminated and unhealthy.

During the campaign, 4,503 citizens were vaccinated against cholera and typhoid. It was revealed that dirty drinking water, the presence of unhealthy food, and consumption of rotten fruit juices and bakery items are the main reasons for the spread of cholera and typhoid germs in the city.

According to a report released by the District Health Authority Rawalpindi, a campaign was launched in Rawalpindi district for 4 months and 26 days in the context of public safety health. The aim was not only to protect the citizens from dangerous epidemics but also to identify all the factors which are increasing the diseases of cholera and typhoid.

The report stated that drinking water samples were taken from 283 different places in the Rawalpindi district. Laboratory analysis revealed that the water used by the citizens for drinking in 29 places was contaminated. While drinking water in 254 places was declared useful for human health.

During the campaign, it was learned that chlorinated water is being supplied to 472 areas in the city. Food samples were collected from about 2,000 food stalls, hotels, cafeterias in the city in which 1,832 samples were declared unhealthy. Most of the unhealthy food centers were found at Pirwadhai Bus Stand, Khayaban-e-Sir Syed, Sadiqabad, Raja Bazaar, Urdu Bazaar, Bani, Syedpur Road, Satellite Town, Gujjar Khan, Murree and Taxila.

Sources said that milkshakes made from different fruits, junk foods, canned foods and tea were declared unhealthy foods. Food samples obtained from 1,018 locations during the campaign were declared extremely harmful to human health.

The health department challaned all the food stallholders and sent them to the courts. Various courts imposed fines of Rs717,300 for serious violations.

The report stated that 4,503 people in the affected areas were vaccinated against cholera and typhoid during the campaign. It added that the public safety campaign against cholera and typhoid has not only received complete data regarding the quality of clean drinking water and food items in Rawalpindi but the areas where cholera and typhoid outbreaks are likely to occur have been completely marked.

The Department of Health, with the help of data obtained from the campaign, has declared various areas as sensitive and suggested to the Punjab Government to launch a large-scale vaccination campaign in those areas.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 29^th, 2022.