By Ayesha Pervez
Despite being amongst the most urbanized countries in the South Asia region, Pakistan has many issues. The countries population is steadily increasing at a rate of three percent each year. The problem is not just that of the increasing population but also the lack of attention towards growing issues to support the growth. As a result, we see the situation as it is today, dense population, and an insufficient structure. Among all the issues I would say access of clean water takes the lead. Pakistan ranks number 9 in the list of top 10 countries with lowest access to clean water where 21 million out of the total population do not have access to clean water. In 2018, The Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) released an official statement that by 2025, there will be very little or no clean water available in the country. Long term exposure to dirty water causes exposure of arsenic which in the long run can cause cancer and skin lesions.
Moreover, dirty water causes sanitation and hygiene problems as well which impacts negatively the health and wellbeing of children. Children suffering from repeated episodes of diarrhea are likely to fall behind in school or drop out altogether. Furthermore, it can also cause currently affects a huge chunk of children in Pakistan. So, if we monitor closely it’s a chain of issues if not controlled. Clean drinking water is a necessity and it is the government’s responsibility to ensure that the masses have easy access to it. However, over eighty percent of the water supplied through various schemes is not safe to consume. This is mainly due to damaged water lines and sanitation infrastructure. There are many areas in which water supply is unsafe since it is polluted by waste water. To make matters worse, this water is also only accessible to only half of the population. Water supply is also time bound and most areas are only supplied water five to ten hours per day or in major areas of cities like Karachi get water after every other day and that only for a maximum of 2 hours to fill their tanks and everything and use it till it comes back the day after tomorrow.
Pakistan Government has come a long way addressing this issue but it is still a long way to go. Organizations like UNICEF support the government with frameworks to plan, budget and prioritize for safe water services. The aim is to improve the quality of water supply and ensure access to safe drinking water to the population deprived of it. Furthermore, the government has also taken and initiative to encourage the public to invest in Reverse Osmosis Plant commonly known as an RO Plant that basically purifies or desalinate contaminated water by forcing water through a membrane. This is going to make the availability of clean water for people all over, it will come at a minimal price but it is still better than living on dirty water.
To get out of this crisis we need to work hand in hand with the government and play our role as a citizen of this country. A few things that can be done to make water safe and clean for drinking and other uses. People can easily purify water through chemicals like chlorine or iodine, chlorine is also normally used in tanks to keep water clean. People may use filtration or the best way is to boil water. All of these methods are highly effective if done properly. Anyway, you need to choose only one of these methods to get clean water for yourself.
