Unclean drinking water
Unclean drinking water
Editorial
Editorial

UNICEF, a world organisation, has claimed that around 53,000 children are dying every year as a result of the water related diseases.

UNICEF, a world organisation, has claimed that around 53,000 children are dying every year as a result of the water related diseases.

The people in general are suffering from many diseases as a result of the highly polluted water being supplied by the State agencies in all parts of Pakistan. It is a failure of the Government and its concerned agencies responsible for safe potable water to the people all over Pakistan.

Hardly, it is discussed on the floor of the Provincial Assemblies, mainly in Balochistan where the MPAs gave more importance to their MPA funds and the so-called Public Sector Development Programme with 80 per cent junk schemes. The performance of Government is at the lowest with no interests to defend the legitimate interests of the common people or improve the civic services to the masses.

Public service is not a priority in Sindh and Balochistan as the Supreme Court took serious notice to supply of highly contaminated water to the people. There is a report that around 80 percent population of the country is getting contaminated water with no efforts to check it.

The Sindh Government was made the prime target during the Supreme Court proceedings on the issue of safe drinking water for the people in general. The Provincial Government tried to shift the responsibility and at the same time claimed discrimination for making Sindh the target.

However, it is main issue of the people of Sindh where 80 per cent people are denied safe drinking water, the prime duty of any Government. The Sindh Government was involved in disservice to its own political constituents bringing the prestige of the Government down in the eyes of the people.

At the same time, the Balochistan Government should improve its performance by providing clean and bacteria-free drinking water to the people in all the regions without any discrimination. It is the prime duty of the Government to ensure that the irrigation canals are not contaminated as it is the biggest source of drinking water.

The Government should ensure that no dirt and filth is dumped in the Kirthar Canal and Pat Feeder wherever it passes through the main population centres. It is true in case of Usta Mohammad and Dera Murad Jamali where the municipal authorities failed to provide better sewerage system.

The local authorities should take maximum care that dirt and filth is not thrown into the canal, or the waste or sewerage water allowed passing through the canal. In other cities, the local authorities should take maximum care in providing clean and safe water to the people.

It is an established fact that prevention is better than cure and thus the Government should take efforts preventing diseases so that it can save billions on healthcare or people’s trillions will be saved by providing better civic services. The genuine pro-people political parties should make it a public policy issue of good governance to improve the quality of life by hammering out an elaborate policy of public health.

Those parties should monitor the working of bureaucracy at all level keeping an eye on their performance on the issues of public interests. The senior most of officials should be made responsible for supplying contaminated water to the people in any given area and they should be censured and punished through public accountability.

In most of the area, subsoil water found to be unfit for human consumption for which the Government should establish filter plant to ensure clear water for drinking. Saline water should not be supplied to the people in some remote regions like Chagai or water logged region of Naseerabad.