The issue of contaminated water

Is there anyone who would take responsibility?

Contaminated water is responsible for 40 per cent annual deaths in Pakistan. What else would then be a greater threat to the nation? Ironically, neither any one takes any measures against this poison nor are there any cases registered to fight this evil that has been consuming the nation drop by drop. Not only is it a cause if several diseases, it makes lifespan considerably short as well.

Water is a the most essential need of every living being. Other than quenching thirst, it’s utilised in several other activities without which life would cease to exist. Considering that clean water is the right of every citizen, it’s very unfortunate to know that the residents of Pakistan are deprived of this necessity. In many villages and cities people have no choice but to drink unclean water. However, a great percentage of people still makes a personal effort to take measures to purify water that is being acquired through pipelines though the efficacy of such methods is often debatable.

It is worth commending that people are still aware of the provision of polluted water and the health consequences that they may face because of which they try to counteract this issue personally. However, it’s quite unfortunate to know that a great chunk of our population is unaware of the fact that they are being deprived of clean water. Often the supply of water in rural as well as urban areas is not worth consuming for animals. As a result of this, such people are oblivious to basic health related matters and serious diseases caused by contaminated water.

Providing clean water to citizens is one of the main responsibilities of the government. However, our politicians are not bothered about the provision of basic facilities such as health and education due to their sheer negligence and incompetence. The question arises as to whether this matter should be left to the government alone. Would it suffice to hold the politicians responsible and walk away from our own responsibilities? For a serious issue as this, every individual and organisation would have to put in collective efforts, otherwise contaminated water would continue making everyone its prey.

Non-profit organisations create a top of mind recall when discussing such matters that need a collective effort. Many of such private welfare organisations work for a specific cause, such as education, health, the rights of women and children etcetera. Similarly, a number of them work for other welfare services like providing ambulance services, feeding or providing shelter to the poor. Edhi Foundation, Saylani Welfare Trust and Chhipa top the list of related welfare organisations. They are all worth praising considering their service to humanity and it is because of their generous efforts that they are respected and trusted by all. Therefore, these organisations can be counted upon to create awareness at a mass level regarding acquiring clean water or purifying it.

These NGOs are spread across several locations including cities and villages because of which running such a campaign would not be difficult. Moreover, given their trust factor and level of respect, most people would pay heed to what they have to say while the rich are always in favour of financially supporting such causes. Thus, resources should not be an issue for them either.

With the help of such an awareness campaign, they can educate people about the health consequences of consuming polluted water; however, the disclosure of resources would be necessary alongside providing clean water and the means of acquiring it. For this purpose, these organisations can install water plants in various areas to ensure that people get pure water although maintaining these plants is another issue. The next step would be to educate people about the required maintenance and to provide them with cost effective and easy to use equipment to purify water, not to mention emphasising upon the dangers of consuming contaminated water.

In order to ensure maximum participation for awareness building, it is important to contact each household and inhabitants of surrounding areas of the city. Following this, various sub campaigns should be launched that not only interest the audience but also achieve this end result successfully.

When Pakistan was hit by natural calamities that rendered the victims homeless, it was these NGOs that extended a helping hand to them during those hard times and their representatives worked day and night to ensure restoration with the resources at hand. This helped in instilling respect for all welfare organisations.

It is thus easy to reach the masses through these NGOss because of the trust they have built as a result of their untiring efforts and transparency in executing tasks. Contaminated water is also a calamity because of which thousands of people die annually. Therefore, the government along with NGOs can play an effective role in creating awareness and providing clean water to individuals thus ensuring safe future for the generations to come.

We can hope that these organisations can consider the gravity of the situation and step forward to take effective and much needed measures.