Poisoned waters
LIVING in Lahore in the ’70s and ’80s, I remember drinking water straight from the tap.
Now, you’d have to put a gun to my head to force me to adopt such a suicidal way of quenching my thirst. Everybody who can afford to, drinks bottled mineral water; those who can’t, hopefully boil and filter their supplies.
This is just one more way in which Pakistan has moved backwards: instead of providing its citizens with clean potable water, the stuff now flowing from your taps — if you are lucky enough to be supplied from the mains, that is — is almost guaranteed to make you seriously ill.
Just a few days ago, this newspaper informed us that the water being supplied to the Sindh Chief Minister House is not being treated with chlorine. So if some of the highest in our land cannot trust their water supplies, who can?
The other day, Hamid Mir, the Geo anchor, walked around the banks of the Ravi near Lahore with a couple of experts discussing the state of the river. I remember rowing on it many years ago, but currently, I could probably wade across. Apart from all the water that has been drained away, what remains has been so heavily polluted that it can support no life, leave alone the Ravi khagga, the legendary fish so beloved of Lahori foodies.
Other watercourses that flow near industrial centres, too, have been heavily polluted. The Wah Ordnance Factories, for example, have blighted the pleasant river that once meandered by the famous Mughal gardens there.
As a result of this callous neglect of our water supplies, 250,000 Pakistani children under the age of five die every year, with waterborne diseases costing the economy around $1.3 billion, according to the Hassan Foundation. Four-fifths of all diseases we suffer from, including cholera, diarrhoea, typhoid and hepatitis, are caused by dirty, untreated water. Despite this huge cost in terms of money and human suffering, we spend only 0.2pc of our budget on this crucial element.
Waterborne diseases cost the economy some $1.3bn.
Apart from the quality of the water we drink, the quantity available is decreasing, too. While the river flows are more or less constant, thanks to the Indus Water Treaty with India, the exploding population and the increasing demand for industry and agriculture have combined to make water a dwindling resource.
Unless we learn to use it more wisely, we are heading for serious drought conditions. The annual water availability per person in 1996 was around 1,300 cubic metres; this has fallen to just over 1,000, taking Pakistan to the category of highly stressed nations in terms of water. And while our rural communities mostly use ground water, 36pc of it is highly saline.
Land near industrial centres is almost invariably polluted as factories pump untreated effluents into the nearest water-course. And the sea, too, is similarly treated as a garbage dump by industrial units in Karachi. Fish caught near the coast show dangerously high levels of lead and mercury. So next time you order a grilled sole, do so at your own risk.
The other day, the New York Times carried an article about how Israel has overcome its recurring water shortages. This semi-desert state had pioneered the drip-irrigation system to reduce water wastage, and is now in the forefront again with its innovative policies.
Household use of water in Israel has been reduced by 18pc, and recycling has added 40 billion gallons to its supplies. It is a world leader in desalination. And the income from water is reinvested in renewing the infrastructure.
We, on the other hand, barely invest in water and sewage pipes with the result that ancient, rusting conduits often leak into each other, spreading dangerous diseases. Karachi’s ongoing water crisis is yet another symptom of this problem. The fact that even the most exclusive areas of the country’s business hub like the Defence Housing Society cannot supply piped water to its residents shows the low priority successive governments have accorded this critical issue over the years.
The need to supply the population with clean drinking water could not be more obvious. The health problems caused by failure to do so have been common knowledge for years, so why this refusal to do what is required? A country that spends billions on a nuclear arsenal is surely capable of doing something as basic as treating its drinking water and preventing industries from polluting streams, rivers and the sea.
But it’s not that simple. Just as our elite refuses to improve public schools, transport and medical facilities, so too does it allow essential services like sewage and water to fall into disrepair. After all, the rich can buy endless supplies of Nestle, and if a quarter million of poor kids die every year, so what?
It is this uncaring attitude that has come to define our ruling classes. As long as they are not held to account, the vast majority of Pakistanis will continue to suffer.
Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2015
On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play