November 26, 2005
Islamabad: The provision of safe drinking water and sanitation facilities in the quake hit areas of Azad Kashmir (AJK) and North West Frontier Province (NWFP) has become a big challenge for the government and non-government agencies. The inadequate arrangements of solid and liquid waste management have further aggravated the situation especially in urban centers of the affected regions.
Mr. Zahid Ali, a representative of Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP) stated this in a press conference. He said the local communities are gradually heading towards an environmental disaster due to lack of sufficient arrangements of disposing off human and medical waste, which has contaminated the drinking water to a greater extent. “The tent villages on banks of Neelam and Kunhar rivers have been causing a great deal of pollution in terms of human and solid waste that goes into the rivers in the absence of a proper sewerage and sanitation system”, he said.
The UN and other agencies working on environmental issues have already warned about a potential environmental disaster in the wake of last month’s earthquake, which has claimed more than 100,000 human lives. According to experts, the mountainous regions are more prone to water pollution as compared to plain fields. The sewerage and sanitation system has already been destroyed after the earthquake and survivors are suffering from acute shortage of safe drinking water. Mr. Zahid urged that government and other organizations including international NGOs should start an awareness campaign about drinking water and sanitation especially for those who are residing in camps in various parts of AJK and NWFP.
The media has a great potential of disseminating relevant information to people, he said. Replying to a question he said that the Ministry of Environment should immediately arrange a consultative meeting of all organizations who are working on environment and sanitation and chalk out a comprehensive strategy for the affected areas about improving drinking water and sanitation facilities.
Mr. Ali informed that CRCP, which is working
in collaboration with Global Environment Facility (GEF), United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP), would collect and disseminate important
information on safe drinking water and allied issues emerging in the
quake-affected areas to assist implementing agencies in coming days “The
civil society organizations have to respond to the situation quickly and
effectively in order to prevent water-born diseases and avoid any further
loss of human lives.” Zahid concluded.