Pakistan still has a lot of ground to cover
Addressing an international conference on water in Tajikistan, Nawaz Sharif noted that Pakistan was one of the co-sponsors of the UN Resolution in 2005 that established the International Decade for Action for safe water for everyone. While noting with satisfaction that the target of halving the proportion of population without safe drinking water by 2015 was met ahead of time, he lamented that millions remain without access to water while for billions access to sanitation facilities continues to be an out-of-reach luxury.
The shortages of water in Karachi, and the rising incidence of naegleria fowleri, are the most dramatic examples of the way successive governments in Pakistan have neglected the issue of making potable water available to the people. Even more gruesome are the effects of the unchecked disposal of municipal and industrial effluent into the rivers and canals which provide drinking water to millions. In the case of Pakistan one of the reasons is that the governments prefer economic development over environmental issues forgetting that neglecting the latter could impede the former. International conferences are a one-day affair and the lessons are forgotten once the leaders return to their countries.
There is little effort at conserving potable water in Pakistan. In urban centres, there is a big wastage of piped water. Affluence has been followed by apathy to water conservation. Domestic overuse, neglect to stop the overflow, coupled with the daily washing of the porches and cars are causing a fast depletion of the underground water reserves in cities like Lahore. The wastage is encouraged by the government policy. Unlike many developed countries including water rich ones like Canada, there is no metered billing in Pakistan with charges increasing per unit for higher users. Everyone is free to waste safe water in a country facing scarcity. There is a need by the government to take policy decisions aimed at stopping the pollution of rivers and canals and reducing the water wastage in urban centres.
