As many as 116 state-of-the-art water filtration plants have been installed in villages of Lodhran, Hasilpur, Dunyapur, Khanpur and Minchanabad tehsils in Bahawalpur region under Safe Drinking Water Program, which are providing safe drinking water to more than 350,000 local residents in the abovementioned areas Senior official of Punjab Saaf-Pani Company (PSPC) disclosed this here on Wednesday.
He further said that as revealed in various survey reports, the underground water in abovementioned tehsils had become contaminated and contained multiple pollutants, which affected the health of locals.
They had fallen victim to various water-borne diseases, which were taking toll in the form of increase in their health-related expenditures.
In order to increase safe drinking water consumption and create awareness about the hazards intake of contaminated water among local residents, PSPC-South has launched a robust awareness campaign aimed at inclining locals to use filtered water for consumption and cooking purposes.
Besides the engagement of PSPC-South’s community mobilization staff, Lady Health Workers and Health Nutrition Supervisors in the abovementioned tehsils have been taken onboard through District Health & Education Departments to promote hygiene practices and consumption of filtered water among local villagers.
The existing water quality is unfit for human consumption in majority regions of rural areas in the Punjab province.
Those who remain impacted by this lack of safe drinking water are often the most vulnerable groups in populations are women, children and extreme poor in rural / remote / marginalized communities of the province.
Realizing the gravity of situation, the Punjab government has launched Safe Drinking Water Program not only to protect water quality but also to make it available to those who lack access in rural areas of the Punjab.
Vision of Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif is to see the province as a development model to be emulated and this safe drinking water program is bound to transform his vision-I to reality.
It will improve the health of rural population along with drastic cut in their health budget and improve their lifestyle.