Potable water: ‘Three filtration plants inadequate for Bahawalpur’

Many avoid using the facility because of power outages and long queues.

BAHAWALPUR:

Residents of several neighbourhoods in Bahawalpur complain that three water filtration plants installed by the provincial government are inadequate to meet the potable water demand.

They say with plants in Satellite Town, Model Town A and Model Bazaar near Bahawalpur tehsil municipal authority office, only a fraction of the city’s population is benefiting from the clean drinking water facility. Many even in these areas are deterred by long queues and power outages.

The filtration plant in Satellite Town was inaugurated eight months ago by Prisons Minister Iqbal Channar. Saleem Ahmed, a resident of Kousar Colony, said the minister had announced that filtration plants would be installed in every union council of Bahawalpur. He said tap water in most of Kousar Colony was contaminated with sewage.

Muhammad Jameel, a resident of Badar Sher, alleged that areas with low-income households had been ignored in the installation of filtration plants.

He said none of the three plants catered to a low-income area. He said it took his family over half an hour to visit his nearest plant in Satellite Town. “The commute mostly ends in vain as there are either long queues or no electricity,” he added..

Safdar Bhatti, a resident of Satellite Town, said he occasionally got water from the plant. He said with a day job as a teacher he could not always afford to spend the amount of time taken in waiting for one’s turn to fill water at the plant.

Muhammad Zubair, a resident of Model Town A, also said he often did not get water from the filtration plant because of the long wait.

Water Day rallies

Two rallies were organised in Bahawalpur to mark the World Water Day on Thursday.

Participants in one rally arranged jointly by Al-Sadiq Desert Welfare Organisation and the Action Aid highlighted the plight of livestock farmers of Cholistan. They said the scarcity of water in the region was taking its toll on cattle farmers, who were losing their animal in large numbers. The rally was joined by several residents of Cholistan who demanded measures to solve water shortage in the region.  Kisan Board Bahawalpur president Jam Hazoor Bakhsh and Al-Sadiq Desert Welfare Organisation president Riaz Baloch addressed the rally. Another rally was organised in Yazman, 35 km from Bahawalpur, by Mustaqbil Pakistan Party. Muhammad Abbas Shahid spoke on the occasion.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 23^rd, 2012.