KARACHI, Sept 19: Speakers at a seminar titled ‘Water the Healer,’ deplored the lack of political will in the region, which is the root cause of two main water related problems; the scarcity or water and the rising pollution level in sources of potable water.

The seminar was organized by the Institute of Ethics and Culture here on Thursday, and was addressed by Dr Arshad Ali, Shujat Ali Baig, Dr Ashiq Hussain, Dr Suleman Otho and journalist Sarwar Javed.

Speakers highlighted the regions crisis related to water problems, whether it be the scarcity of water or excessive pollution in water reservoirs, and blamed the lack of political commitment in this regard by successive governments.

Official corruption and lack of planning was said to be the main cause of deforestation in the country, which had aggravated after the arrival of Afghan refugees during the past two decades. This deforestation has led to reduced rainfall and snowfall, thus adding to the scarcity of water.

It was said that despite numerous drives and campaigns announced by the federal, provincial and local governments’, the status of green areas in the country has not changed considerably.

The seminar also demanded of the government to chalk out a policy and formula to ensure maximum tree plantation in urban and rural areas, which must be maintained by the locals voluntarily. Many suggestions regarding exploring new sources of water were stressed, such as the treatment of waste water for external use and installation of a desalination plant at Karachi.

Due to the scarcity of water all over the country, experts have analysed that two layers of water have been used in Pakistan, and most of the wells all over the country are functional only at the depth of more than 30 feet.—PPI