PESHAWAR, April 29: After receiving reports from a PCSIR laboratory about water contamination, the public representatives of the Peshawar Union Council 16 have decided to install filter plants for provision of clean drinking water to the area people.

“We have decided to install at least 15 filter plants in major localities of the union council to ensure provision of clean drinking water to the people,” UC Nazim and Naib Nazim, Mohammad Ali Safi and Mian Iftikhar, told APP on Saturday.

They said the PCSIR officials had collected water samples from the area and after analysis reported contamination in them.

According to the PCSIR report, the total suspended solids and nitrite contents in the water were higher than the permissible limits of the World Health Organization, they elaborated.

They said the cases of diarrhoea, dysentery and indigestion were frequently reported in the area. In one case, 10 members of a family, including minors, were suffering from severe indigestion, they added.

The nazims said most of the water pipes in the area were rusted. They added they had started work on replacing rusty pipes but due to lack of funds, it seemed impossible to remove all the defective pipes.

In the UC, total number of Mohallas was 65, at 15 of which filter plants would be installed initially at a cost of Rs900,000, they said.

Mr Safi and Mr Iftikhar requested the district government to provide them special funds for replacing all the rusted pipes.

They also requested the NGOs, working for provision of clean drinking water, to extend the UC financial assistance for solving the problem so that people could be saved from fatal water-borne diseases.