Joint working group to ensure safe drinking water, says Saad

He said that every fifth person in the country suffered from illness associated with pollution, and 40 percent of deaths in urban centers were caused by unsafe water. About 47 percent of the population of Lahore had no access to safe drinking.

He said that Al-Khidmat foundation would make all out efforts to get sufficient knowledge regarding waterborne diseases and its affect on human health to understand the overall affect of polluted water on environment, to conduct a research to know the current status of unfit water in Lahore; to educate people regarding waterborne diseases by using electronic and print media.

'The original quality of water sources has been altered by the impacts of various human, industrial and agricultural activities in Pakistan. These contaminants such as microorganisms, chemicals, toxic substances, industrial wastes or wastewater in higher concentration makes water unfit for drinking. Such contaminants cause acute or chronic health effects such as circulatory system problem, skin damage, kidney damage, gastrointestinal distress, blue baby syndrome, increased risk of cancer and nervous system disorder,' they added. .

They said that in order to improve the health of inhabitants of Pakistan both quantitative and qualitative analysis was required on local level which was only possible by the establishment of water quality monitoring labs at district level.