BAHAWALPUR: The South Punjab secretariat for livestock and dairy development has decided to provide potable water for the human and cattle population in Cholistan under a seven-year plan.

South Punjab Livestock Secretary Aftab Peerzada told Dawn on Monday solar-powered water filtration-cum-treatment plants would be installed at the existing wells of brackishand saline water.

Additional Secretary Tanveer Jhandhir said it was regrettable that in the present age, humans along the livestock were drinking water from the open ponds.

The Cholistandesert consists of 6.6 million acres of barren and sand dunes where 2.5 million people with their 1.4million animals (camels, cows, sheep and goats) are living.

They take water from 1,800 tobas (ponds).

He said soon a pilot filtration plant would be functional at Noorsar Balochan Toba, 200km from Bahawalpur.

Arrangements were being done to install a submersible pump connected with a pipeline to supply potable water enough to serve the 400 humans and 4,000 cattle heads living around five tobas within a radius of five kiometres.

He said each plant would cost about Rs1.5 million. He said the department would utilise its own resources and philanthropists’ help for the purpose.

The success of the trial plant would help the department envisage the installation of other plants.

Cholistan Livestock Director Raza Abbasi said 100wells were functional with solar-powered machines.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2021