Chairman Punjab Aab Pak Authority Dr Shakeel Ahmed Khan has said that eleven filtration plants would be operational during the current month with the financial assistance of UNICEF to provide neat and clean water of international standards and another 20 plants would be installed soon in Multan. Briefing the member of Multan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MCCI) Chairman said that no hurdle can stay before the spirit of devotion and achievement of goal. Hundreds of thousand people from less developed areas and under-developed villages will have access to safe drinking water on a daily basis once the project is completed.
He further said that Punjab Aab-e-Pak authority would install 76 more water purification plants in Multan division, and 48 in Dera Ghazi Khan division. Similarly clean water would also be provided in Bahawalpur and Bahawalnagar district .
He said that billions of rupees were spent on providing clean drinking water to the people during the tenure of Pervez Musharraf and other governments, including PML-N, but not a single filtration plant is functional today. The Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority will also have billions of rupees in funds but I assure the nation that I will not allow anyone to take or give commission in any project. He said that every penny of the people would be protected in Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority and all the information about every project would be available on website to ensure complete transparency. He maintained that Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority would be made such an organization that no successive government would be able to end this historic project.He said that we have laid the foundation stone of this project which started at a cost of more than Rs. 161 million but we still need to work hard and every single member of Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority will have to play his role with utmost honesty. He said that had some people in the bureaucracy of Punjab not created hurdles, the project would have started a year and a half ago.
what a pity that people do not fulfil their responsibilities of running these water purfification plants.Now we have prepared a foolproof mechanism to run these plants regularly. Dr.Shakil Ahmed Khan said that we have decided to establish water-testing labs in every city of punjab Province.Dr.Shakil called upom the philanthropists to come forward for the installation of water purification plants to serve the humanity for God sake.It would cost merely Rs.2.5 million only and its monthly expenditures are Rs.50,000 to 80,000.
Member of Governing Body of Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority ,Khawaja Jalaluddin Roomi said that authority had focused on south Punjab since very first because Present Government was sincerely endeavouring to provide potable water to less developed and remoted areas of South Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan.He said that we have installed a number of water purification plants in Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan ,Qadar pur Raan, tribal areas of Punjab , Sindh and Baluchistan. Roomi said that setting aside the political affiliations,we have to serve like one nation to serve the humanity. Roomi that it is fact that the pond from which people collecting the water is shared by humans and animals. “All the wandering animals come there to quench their thirst,” . “Residents also fill their utensils from the same pond for drinking purposes.”. He further said that a large number of Baluchs are migrating to other areas due to non-availability of drinking water. Similar, problem is faced by the people of Cholistan. He assured on the behalf of member of Multan chamber that they were ready to contribute for the sacred purpose.
Managing Director of Water & Sanitation agency (WASA)Nasir Iqbal told that 45 water purification plants were being run by WASA and 85 plants are non-operational due to technical fault.He told that MCCI member said that clean water is available at 450 feet deepness.He said that WASA had a water supply network of 1400 kilometer but 1000 km pipelines had already completed their life.Now WASA was going to replace these line with an estimated cost of Rs.1000 million while 300 km long pipeline network would be changed with the financial assistance of JICA in Multan. Director Development Waqas Khan Khakwani told all non-operational water filtration plants were being activated with the help of Multan chamber of Commerce & Industry. All expenditures on keeping these plants operational would be borne by the chamber.
Syed Iftikhar Ali Shah, Senior Vice President of MCCI said that we are cooperating whole heartedly with the Government in this sacred mission of providing clean water to the people. Khawaja Muhammad Hussain Chairman of Multan Dryport Trust presented a sovenir of the chamber.The meeting was also attended by Shafi Anis Sheikh, Vice President,Khawaja Muhammad Yousaf,Khawaja Muhammad Usman, Roshan Shah Gardezi, Khalid Hanif Lodhi, Anwar Salim Keen, Muhammad Younas Ghazi,Sheikh Faheen Sattar, Khawaja Mansoor, Naveed Chughtai,Mian Rashid Iqbal, Malik Shakil Arain, Auranzeb Alamgir and Secretary General Muhammad Shafiq.
