Drinking water sources in flood-hit areas of Sindh, Balochistan found highly contaminated: Expert
KARACHI: The post-flood situation in both Sindh and Balochistan is worrisome, requiring immediate government intervention. Water is still standing in several districts and the drinking water available to the masses is highly contaminated.
These points were raised at a seminar — Devastating floods in Pakistan: Mitigation measures and the Way Forward – organised at the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FPCCI) head office here on Thursday.
The speakers highlighted the losses caused by this year’s floods and the ongoing relief efforts in Sindh and Balochistan.
The tragedy, they said, affected over 33m people and killed more than 1,700 people, including 647 children. Around 1,164,270 livestock died during the devastation.
The World Bank, according to speakers, estimates that the economic losses to the country stand at $15.2bn while the flood damage is around $14.9bn.
Speaking about the plausible reasons that led to the unprecedented floods in Pakistan, chief meteorologist Dr S. Sarfaraz explained that a combination of different phenomena contributed to the 2022 monsoon rains.
“We need to prepare for the future. Our analysis and climate change data show that the country is likely to see an increase in extreme weather events including floods, drought, heatwaves, cyclones, sea-level rise and glacier melting. Hence, adaptation strategies along with early warning systems are the need of the hour.”
Giving a presentation on post-flood water quality scenario in Sindh and Balochistan, Dr Ghulam Murtaza Arain representing the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), said most of the samples collected from Sindh and Balochistan were found to be highly contaminated with fecal matter.
“We need to act swiftly otherwise we may have more disease outbreaks as soon as the temperature starts rising,” he said.
The data shared in the event showed that 81 per cent of the 539 water samples collected from Jaffarabad, Nasirabad, Sohbatpur, Kachi Bolan and Jhal Magsi were contaminated with total coliform, 38 per cent with E.coli (a strong indicator of sewage and animal waste contamination) and 14 per cent with cholera bacteria.
“The wide presence of these germs in the month of winter suggests that the outbreak risk in summer months would increase multiple times as hot temperatures help germs flourish.”
Dr Arian also shared the several initiatives taken by the department in collaboration with Unicef for provision of drinking water to people in Sindh and Balochistan.
Dr Ahmed Ali Gul from the University of Management and Technology, Lahore and Dr Quratulain Bakhteari from the Institute for Development Studies and Practices also spoke.
Dawn, December 23rd, 2022
