LAHORE, Oct 16: Around 40 per cent of the country’s potable water is being wasted annually, resulting in fast depletion of water resources.
This was stated by environment lawyer Anjum Jawaid Khan while speaking at a seminar on “food, beverage and water” at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Thursday.
He said Pakistan was leading in water wastage in the world, and there was an urgent need to introduce water conservation laws to stop this.
He suggested that the government should direct all tap manufacturing industries to design the product according to modern pattern specifications to reduce water wastage. “Singapore has manufactured taps which stop releasing water after every 10 seconds,” he said.
“Although there is no immediate threat to the water resources as it has 1,700 cubic metre water available for each person in a year, there may be some shortage in the coming years if the same rate of wastage continues,” he said. He also stressed the need for bringing about a change in people’s attitude towards the use of water.
LHCBA Environment Protection Committee chairman Akhtar Awan told Dawn that water treatment plants should be installed in every district to save people from water-borne diseases.
Four such plants had been installed in the Lahore Cantonment area at a cost of Rs250,000 each, he said, explaining that no separate building was required to install such plants. Considering its affordable cost, the similar programme could be initiated in other parts of the country, he suggested.
Punjab Environment Minister Makhdoom Ashfaq Ahmad emphasised the need for water management to save water resources. He added that people would have to quit the habit of wasting water.
He said the government would make-all out efforts to introduce legislation in this regard. There was also a need to create awareness among people about the high population growth, which requires a huge amount of resources.
Punjab Food Minister Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal also touched upon the population aspect, saying: “A significant amount of budget earmarked for population control is going waste because of lack of education.”
Environment Protection Department Secretary Kamran Lashari said “we need to save water from today to avoid crisis in the years to come.”
He expressed dismay over the industrialists’ poor response to the EPD’s Self-Monitoring and Reporting Tools programme. Only few industries had been registered under this programme, which was initiated in view of the implications of the World Trade Organization. He said only the environmentally friendly industries could manage to export their products after the implementation of the WTO in 2005.
LCCI President Mian Anjum Nisar said about 20 per cent of the water was being used in the industrial sector across the world. In Pakistan, only five per cent water was being used for this purpose.
He urged the government to provide soft loans and technical expertise for preservation of the industrial environment.
Talking to reporters later, the food minister said the flour mills had no justification to increase the price. The government, he said, would give subsidy on wheat.