Free bottled water supply ordered

CM briefed on service in remote areas of four districts

LAHORE:

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Thursday rejected a proposal to impose charges on bottled drinking water, reaffirming that access to safe water should remain a public service.

Chairing a meeting on the Punjab Saaf Pani Authority, the chief minister reviewed progress on the ongoing bottled drinking water pilot project and ordered that daily progress reports be submitted for the four participating districts.

She instructed the deputy commissioners of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan and Khushab to obtain public feedback on the initiative and assess the daily demand for clean drinking water in their districts.

The meeting reviewed proposals to deliver clean drinking water to households through tankers. It was informed that construction of 864 water filtration plants had commenced across various districts, while work on an additional 1,913 plants would begin shortly.

Under the pilot project, 10,000 bottles of 19-litre drinking water are being supplied free of charge in four districts.

The chief minister directed authorities to complete 1,886 water filtration plant projects across Punjab at the earliest.

The meeting also reviewed recommendations for establishing 670 bottled drinking water plants throughout the province. Of these, 335 plants will each have a production capacity of 10,000 litres, while the remaining will produce 5,000 litres each.

A proposal was also presented to establish 4,020 distribution points of bottled water.

The meeting was informed that 860 bottles of clean drinking water are being supplied daily in Khushab, 780 in Rahim Yar Khan, 1,500 in remote areas of Koh-e-Suleman in Dera Ghazi Khan and 2,780 in remote areas of Bahawalpur.

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz ordered that the number of trucks transporting drinking water be increased to ensure uninterrupted supply.

She said providing clean drinking water at people's doorsteps was her commitment, adding that every citizen of Punjab had the right to safe water.

"Wherever clean drinking water is not available, bottled water will be delivered under all circumstances," she said.

The chief minister said it was deeply painful to see people, particularly women and the elderly, carrying water on their heads. She termed it regrettable that many drinking water plants across the province were not fully functional.

She said the time had come to end the hardships faced by people in remote areas who were forced to travel long distances under the scorching sun to fetch water.

"By the grace of Almighty Allah, we have made it possible within a short period to deliver clean drinking water to households," she said.

She added that under the Clean Bottled Drinking Water Project, millions of litres of water were being delivered daily to people's doorsteps with dignity and respect.

"Clean drinking water is not merely a public facility; it is a firm guarantee of the people's health, comfort and dignity," she said.

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also chaired a provincial cabinet meeting, where she was informed that kidnapping for ransom had been eliminated from the riverine area after 30 years.

The cabinet approved allocation of Rs1.1 billion for weapons and protective equipment for police deployed in the region along with a hard-area allowance, relaxed rules for extending the martyrs' package to police personnel serving there and approved a special recruitment package for youth from Rajanpur's Rojhan area.

It agreed to constitute a four-member ministerial committee to finalise matters relating to the medical entry test.

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz stressed that along with foreign investors, local investors should also be encouraged in Punjab and remarked that perceptions of wheat shortage despite good harvest were a matter of concern.