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HYDERABAD, May 29: Expressing concern over acute shortage of drinking water in Sindh, leaders of various social welfare organizations set up an organization and formed a 20-member committee to find ways to ensure supply of clean drinking water to people. The organization was set up at a conference on “Drinking water crisis in Sindh”, jointly organized by the Rural Development Organization and ACTIONAID Pakistan at the press club here on Saturday.
Speaking on the occasion, Sindh Rural Green Development Organization leaders Dr Hyder and Ghulam Hussain Malookani said sweet water lakes and ponds in the province had become poisonous and shortage of drinking water had attained alarming proportions.
They said many people had died in Sindh due to consumption of contaminated water and hundreds of others had been hospitalized.
They said clean drinking water was fundamental human right and it was the duty of the state to ensure supply of clean water to people. They regretted that the government had failed to protect this basic right.
ACTIONAID leader Adam Malik sarcastically said political parties were engaged in bickering and they were least concerned about welfare of people.
He stressed the need for launching a joint struggle for ensuring supply of clean drinking water to people.
Mustafa Shahid said Pakistan had failed to evolve a sound and practicable drinking water policy during the last 58 years. He said 58 per cent of the population was suffering from different diseases due to non-supply of clean drinking water.
He claimed that during the last one and a half months, 76 people had died in the province after consuming contaminated water.
He further claimed that conductivity of Right Bank Outfall Drain water was 138,000 which was worse than seawater.
Akbar Lashari and Hyder Siyal, social workers from Kachho, said the biggest problem faced by inhabitants of the Kachho area was non-supply of drinking water.
They said people were dying due to consumption of contaminated water but elected representatives of people were not taking any notice of the matter.
A social worker from Achhro Thar, Majeed Mangrio, said 600,000 people of the area were deprived of basic facilities but the government was not paying any attention to their plight.
He said drought-like conditions had prevailed in Achhro Thar because there were no rains.
Tabassum Baloch from Thar refuted a claim of the government that a huge amount was being spent on welfare of Thari people.
