KARACHI: Villagers in Gadap to get water filter plant soon
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, May 21: Villagers in Gadap, who are at the risk of waterborne diseases, may get a filter plant in a fortnight to overcome the water contamination problem. Talking to Dawn on Monday, EDO Health Dr A. Sajnani said the federal government had taken serious notice of news reports pertaining to water contamination and relevant sufferings of residents of Haji Hussain Baloch Goth in UC-3 in Gadap Town, off Super Highway, and decided to install a filter plant at the earliest.
The Ministry of Industries, Production and Special Initiatives, which has been given the task to implement “Clean Drinking Water for All” (CDWA) programme communicated on May 19 that one of its consultants had been asked to ensure installation of a plant in Gadap’s affected village on priority basis, Dr Sajnani said.
The EDO said the health department had also collected some fresh samples of water from Baloch Goth so that the consultant could arrange a water purifying plant matching to the area requirement. Last week after some laboratory tests the city government health department had pronounced that water being consumed by the residents of Haji Hussain Baloch Goth in Gadap Town was heavily loaded with E.coli (fecal coliform bacteria) and declared it unfit for human consumption.
Presence of E.coli or Escherich coli in water is a strong indication of sewage or animal waste contamination, which may cause many a wide range of disease.
The laboratory tests were conducted as about 50 people, aged between 10 and 60 years, had complained of vomiting and dysentery on May 6, reportedly after consuming water from a seldom used well in their vicinity. As many as 15 of the affected people had to be rushed to a government hospital for emergency treatment, while the rest were attended to at a medical emergency camp set up by the city government.
Talking to Dawn from Lahore, a representative of the consultancy supposed to supply the purification plant in the Gaddap village, Zahid Aslam, said his firm had arranged three filter plants from Holland some time back but those could not be installed as the exact location for installation of the plants or the local owner for the purpose had not been decided by that time.
“Now, one of the three filter plants, as advised by the government very recently, would be set up as demonstration water purifying plant in the Gaddap’s village,” he added.
Replying to a question, Mr Aslam said the technical persons and the plants required would once again be brought into the country and if everything went fine it was likely that the village would start getting treated water by the end of May. He said a site having water and power supply in a populated area was all what they needed for the purpose.
A health official said that Haji Hussain Baloch Goth comprised about 100 households with a total population of 700 to 800 people. The villagers generally used subsoil water, said the official, suggesting that the purification plant needs to be installed at some central location where water from four to five wells and ponds was available.
