Gujranwala, where citizens are forced to drink contaminated water
Underground water is polluted with factory drain water causing several diseases. Photo: Dunya News
(Dunya News) – Polluted water from 3, 000 factories is being drained into the canal contaminating the underground water supply causing several water-borne diseases in the district of Gujranwala that is home to as many as 5 million people.
Like the world over, the international Water Day that falls on March 22 is also celebrated in Pakistan. But despite this, people in Gujranwala are deprived of clean drinking water in a majority of areas. They are forced to opt for one of two options: fetch water from far flung water filtration plants or consume the contaminated water.
For Khurram Butt, a citizen of the district, the contaminated water has forced them to fetch water from filtration plants. “The water we get at homes is not fit to consume, we are forced to get it from filtration plants,” he said.
Another citizen, Imran Haideri, said that on the World Water Day there is absolute failure on part of the government to generate awareness among the people on the issue. “If they do so, it would expose their own negligence,” he said.
According to Khalid Bashir, MD WASA, industrial waste is polluting water streams. He said that Environmental Protection Agency should take action against concerned factories to address the issue.
For more on this, watch a report by Dunya News below.
