Water woes: No access to potable water in Balochistan, NA panel told
K-P ranks second with 93% of the samples found unsafe for human consumption.
K-P ranks second with 93% of the samples found unsafe for human consumption. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
A parliamentary panel on Tuesday was told that people in Balochistan were getting only 0.3 per cent clean drinking water.
“We conducted a study in which 12,000 samples were collected from 95 districts of the country and it has been found that 99 per cent drinking water in Balochistan is not safe for drinking,” said Secretary Ministry of Science and Technology Kamran Ali Qureshi.
The startling revelation came during a meeting of National Assembly Standing Committee on Science and Technology to review the performance of Pakistan Council of Research in Water Recourses (PCRWR) and objectives achieved during the last five years.
According to PCRWR’s report, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) is ranked second, where 93 per cent of water samples in the province were found contaminated and unsafe for human consumption.
In Punjab only 21 per cent water samples were safe for drinking, whereas in Sindh 28 per cent water samples were safe. Similarly, in the federal capital, 59 per cent water samples were safe for drinking.
Perturbed by the revelation, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s Ali Muhammad Khan raised questions about the remedial measures, but he was told that provincial governments were responsible for providing clean drinking water.
“There is no doubt that clean drinking water is a major cause of concern but our purview is merely to test samples in the laboratory and give report to the provincial governments,” said Minister for Science and Technology Zahid Hamid.
Referring to the 18th Constitutional Amendment, Hamid said that his ministry could not take any action. He said that the local governments needed to be sensitized and activated over the issue.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 16th, 2014.
A parliamentary panel on Tuesday was told that people in Balochistan were getting only 0.3 per cent clean drinking water.
“We conducted a study in which 12,000 samples were collected from 95 districts of the country and it has been found that 99 per cent drinking water in Balochistan is not safe for drinking,” said Secretary Ministry of Science and Technology Kamran Ali Qureshi.
The startling revelation came during a meeting of National Assembly Standing Committee on Science and Technology to review the performance of Pakistan Council of Research in Water Recourses (PCRWR) and objectives achieved during the last five years.
According to PCRWR’s report, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) is ranked second, where 93 per cent of water samples in the province were found contaminated and unsafe for human consumption.
In Punjab only 21 per cent water samples were safe for drinking, whereas in Sindh 28 per cent water samples were safe. Similarly, in the federal capital, 59 per cent water samples were safe for drinking.
Perturbed by the revelation, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s Ali Muhammad Khan raised questions about the remedial measures, but he was told that provincial governments were responsible for providing clean drinking water.
“There is no doubt that clean drinking water is a major cause of concern but our purview is merely to test samples in the laboratory and give report to the provincial governments,” said Minister for Science and Technology Zahid Hamid.
Referring to the 18th Constitutional Amendment, Hamid said that his ministry could not take any action. He said that the local governments needed to be sensitized and activated over the issue.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 16th, 2014.