Time to Upgrade Clean Drinking Water Facilities for ICT

Taimoor Jadoon
Islamabad: The population of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) has exceeded 2 million, placing immense pressure on the city’s natural resources. Residents are confronted with challenges such as water scarcity, waste management, and road infrastructure issues.
The citizens are worried about an uninterrupted supply of water for domestic use, especially clean drinking water, as contaminated water in most parts of the country has already resulted in the ailment of millions of Pakistanis with hepatitis, diarrhea, and other stomach-related diseases.
Although the Capital Development Authority (CDA) continuously remains on its toes to meet the growing water demands of citizens, many residents of Islamabad believe it is important to expand this network across the Capital Territory.
Keeping in view the density of the underground water, the authority has installed water filtration plants at various locations to facilitate residents and save them from water-borne diseases.
The Authority is presently operating over 100 filtration plants in settled sectors of Islamabad. But the situation in some adjacent areas still needs improvement where these plants are managed by the representatives’ local governments.
Despite scattered complaints about hygiene and cleanliness, the overall situation is stated to be better than it was three or four years ago.
“This is a noble endeavor by CDA, as clean drinking water is a requirement for every individual,” said Kashif Munir, a resident of sector G-10. “But the authority needs to be fully cognizant of fulfilling health and hygiene standards at these plants.”
Claiming the lesser efficiency of filtration plants in Sabzi Mandi, G-10/3, and I-9, Kashif drew the attention of the authority towards the proper maintenance of these plants.
“Some plants are in poor condition, with water leakage becoming a routine matter,” he said. “These plants need proper supervision and security and timely repair and maintenance to control water wastage and keep the places clean.”
As contaminated drinking water poses serious health hazards, ailment, and death sometimes, there is a dire need for policies to ensure clean drinking water for all.
Such an initiative would not only save the precious money of citizens being incurred on curing water-borne diseases but also help save this precious resource for coming generations.
Qasim Khan, a resident of I-9, has also mentioned problems like delayed repair of poorly performing plants as well as their capacity to cater to the needs of people.
“The Authority must comply with the protocols of cleanliness, repair, and upgradation of these plants to make the citizens fully benefit from this facility,” he suggested.
“Sometimes the ground staff is oblivious to maintenance, which worsens the situation,” he said. “Therefore, periodical maintenance and checking water quality were imperative.”
He observed that at some plants, the taps were insufficient to meet the masses needs. “At such plants, people have to wait for inordinate amounts of time to get water because of the lesser taps.”
On the other hand, the officials of the Capital Development Authority claim that the Water Supply Department of CDA takes all necessary steps to ensure the supply of clean drinking water in the city.
“We are presently running over 100 filtration plants operated by designated staff. This figure is three times higher than what we had on the ground four years ago,” the official claimed.
“With the construction of more filtration plants in Islamabad, we have ensured that clean drinking water is easily available to the citizens,” he remarked.
He informed me that filtration plants in all sectors of Islamabad are operational, and people are fully benefiting from this facility. “Our senior staff and officials randomly inspect these plants to monitor their performance. The area is cleaned, and the filters are replaced in time.”
He said the tests of the water supplied from these plants are conducted every month by PCRWR and the CDA laboratory to ensure that contaminants are properly removed and healthy and safe water is provided to citizens.
“To avoid rush hour at these plants, we have now started them operating round the clock,” he said. “Now it is up to their convenience as to when they can come to these facilities for getting water.”
He also mentioned CDA’s collaboration with NGOs to continuously monitor water quality and the proper maintenance of the plants. “The CDA has also appointed focal persons in every sector to address citizens’ complaints about these plants.”
Due to the contaminated water resources in the catchment areas as well as the heavy density of minerals in the groundwater, there is an urgent need for regular testing and verification of all drinking water sources through effective mitigation measures.
Simply by doing this, we can save extra money spent on water-borne diseases, control waste, and conserve our precious resources to provide a healthy environment for our people.
The feature report was released by APP.