TAXILA: Provision of clean drinking water to people across the country, is among the top priorities of the government, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam said as two water filtration plants were inaugurated in Hassanabdal on Monday. One of the plants was inaugurated in Islampura while the second was inaugurated in Sakhinagar.

“Provision of health facilities to masses is the top most priority of the government as per the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

“The government has approved the Punjab Aab-e-Pak project to provide potable water to people during the next four years, across the province. Water is also essential for food security and agriculture, which is 93pc of our total water consumption. Pakistan is among countries which could face severe water scarcity in the coming years. Most diseases are water borne and 40pc of the population falls ill due to non-availability of clean drinking water.

“The government is taking necessary steps to ensure provision of clean drinking water to citizens,” he said, adding timely utilisation of resources worth millions of rupees would be ensured which would help in continuously providing clean drinking water to citizens.

“Access to clean drinking water is people’s right and no effort should be spared for this purpose. The government is also focusing on monitoring tree-cutting trends; this is important to cope with the challenges posed by climate change.

“Hassanabdal tehsil has been neglected in many issues including drainage, clean drinking water, construction of roads and rehabilitation of public health but the government is paying special attention to these issues,” he added.

Mr Aslam further highlighted the government’s commitment towards increasing forest cover in the country and announced that a multi-million mega development project for Hassanbadal would also be executed soon.

Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2020