RAWALPINDI, April 4: More than 82,000 cases of water related diseases are reported annually to the basic health units (BHUs) in Rawalpindi, shows a survey.

The survey has been conducted by the Nespak, a state-run engineering and consultative organization, prior to the launching of the Asian Development Bank-funded Rawalpindi Environmental Improvement Project (REIP).

The data for the survey on the quality of water has been collected from various hospitals and health centres, Department of Health, Government of Punjab, Pakistan Economic Survey 2002 and print media as well as the research conducted by various organisations including the Nespak.

According to the survey, almost 40 per cent of all reported diseases and 30 per cent of all reported deaths in Rawalpindi are attributed to E-coli, bacteriological and faecal contamination of drinking water.

"Our survey on the occurrence of cases of diarrhoea, hepatitis and typhoid suggests that people suffer repeated and continuous exposure to poor quality of water. The incidence of these diseases is much higher among the downtrodden and low income people, who have very limited access to health care."

"Consistent reports appearing in the media about the incidence of cholera, typhoid, hepatitis and dysentery cases support these figure. However, such cases are difficult to quantify because of the under-reporting of diseases combined with the fact that no regular records are maintained in the health clinics and hospitals regarding casualties due to poor quality of potable water," says the survey.

It further asserts that about 45 per cent of the total infant deaths occur due to water-borne diseases, while inadequate supply of safe and credible potable water and unhygienic sanitation conditions are responsible for as many as 80 per cent of all morbidity.

The findings have also presented a bleak picture of the history of the quality of potable water in the city because the epidemic of hepatitis that appeared in Rawalpindi in 1993 and resulted in 4,000 cases was mainly due to water source pollution by faeces and inadequate water treatment in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

Analysing the data acquired from the Department of Health, the report maintains that diarrhoea and dysentery rank number two after acute respiratory infection in children of less than five years of age. The data also reveals that the water provided to the residents here does not meet the World Health Organisation (WHO) standards.

When Nespak team leader Ms Nahid Ghazanfar was contacted, she told Dawn that it was time that the authorities took notice of this alarming situation and devised policies for its timely and permanent solution. The budget of majority of the poor people was often consumed by water-borne diseases owing to which they had little money left for improving their life standard, she said.

During the implementation of the REIP, she said extreme care would be taken to ensure supply of clean drinking water to the residents and installation of a proper sewerage system along with an effective solid waste management system.