LAHORE, May 29: The Punjab Environment Protection Department found two-thirds of the samples that it had collected from 14 districts of the province injurious to health, as 64 per cent had a high concentration of bacteria, 10 per cent contained fluoride while one per cent contained arsenic.

As many as 20 per cent of the samples were brackish, nine per cent did not taste good, three per cent emanated a foul smell and four per cent were coloured.

A number of bone deformity cases surfacing in Manga Mandi about two years ago were due to the presence of fluoride in drinking water. Fluoride was mostly found in the water samples collected from Lahore, Kasur, Sahiwal, Sargodha, Sheikhupura and Sialkot districts.

The EPD began the underground water survey last year and completed it a couple of weeks ago. The survey was conducted in Lahore, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Faisalabad, Jhang, Sargodha, Rawalpindi, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Sahiwal, Multan, Bahawalpur and DG Khan districts. Some 20 samples were collected from each district.

The EPD has recommended a thorough study by the health department in these districts to figure out how many people are suffering from the effects of drinking contaminated water.

It has also recommended that all water supply agencies should adopt measures to provide clean drinking water to people.

The department has also proposed a ban on industries that pollute water.

Besides, it has suggested that all tehsil municipal administrations (TMAs) should prepare an action plan for effective drainage and clean water supply in the area within their jurisdiction.

It has also proposed that the government should develop standards for measuring pollution locally rather than adopting the WHO standards.

EPD officials said that the department would conduct a water sample survey in the remaining districts from July.

Shortage of water, unavailability of water pipelines, leakages and supply of contaminated water were the main problems in these districts, the EPD officials noted.

They said that sewage got mixed with potable water. Sewage also entered through holes in the water supply pipes. Besides, people did not replace the shabby water pipes in their houses. Neither did they bother to clean their water tanks.

According to a study by the Water Resource Strategy, over 25,000 people are suffering from various diseases in Lahore because of contaminated water.

The officials said that the Water and Sanitation Authority provided 80 gallons of water to each consumer of the city per day. “A huge quantity of water is wasted in watering plants, lawns, and streets, and this practice must be stopped to avoid shortage in the months to come.”

It may be mentioned here that water is also the theme of this year’s World Environment Day on June 5.