Health engineering dept has finalised an ambitious plan to install water purifiers in govt schools, health facilities

PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:Providing clean
drinking water is something many of Sindh’s government schools and health
facilities have long struggled with. Luckily for them, the provincial
government has a noble, albeit ambitious plan: it will equip all of them with
water purifiers powered by nothing more than the sun.
According to Sindh officials, the plan to install solar-powered reverse osmosis
(RO) filtration units in government schools and health facilities have been
devised in compliance with the orders of the Supreme Court-mandated water
commission.
The plan, they said, has been divided into phases. In the first, 4,000 of
Sindh’s roughly 43,000 government schools and 1,300 of the province’s health
facilities will be equipped with the RO filtration units.
“The PC-1 for this initiative is almost complete. We have decided to allocate
Rs2 billion to the first phase of this plan and will release Rs500 million in
the current fiscal year,” Public Health Engineering Department Secretary Roshan
Ali Shaikh told The Express Tribune. “Once installed, these solar-powered water
filtration units should provide residents of areas with contaminated water
supply with clean drinking water while running off the power grid.”
Sindh government sources said the public health engineering department has
asked the provincial government’s education and health wings to identify
schools and health centres that are struggling to provide potable water. In
many remote areas, such as Thar, Kachho and Kohistan, residents spend much of
their day fetching water from distant water sources, they said. According to
them, the scheme should provide them with easy access to clean drinking water,
making their lives considerably easier.
“We are also devising a plan on how to maintain these plants,” said Shaikh.
“The public health engineering department is also going to build model villages
with economically sustainable housing projects in Thar and other districts,” he
added.
“Thar, in particular, is unique in terms of contrast. Although rich in mineral
resources and possessing great tourism potential due to its natural beauty, its
residents suffer serious food security, health, education and livestock
issues,” noted Shaikh. “That is why the Sindh government has pinpointed this
area in particular for model villages.”
Outlining the vision for these model villages, the public health engineering
secretary said: “We have an integrated and a holistic strategic approach. Each
model village will have a community water tank for human consumption and a pond
for livestock water needs. Every village will also have RO filters, health
facilities, and every house in the village will come with a kitchen, garden and
a pitcher-irrigation system for fruit trees and vegetables.”
He added that the government also plans to introduce joint fodder cultivation
under village community supervision and set up training centres for prospective
artisans in coordination with the social welfare department and NGOs.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Sindh Public Health Engineering Minister Mir
Shabbir Ali Bijarani complained that “some sections of media highlight negative
stories from the province, ignoring the positive work we are carrying out,
especially in Thar.”
“We are working on water security in Thar by dividing it in seven zones. Our
department has devised a plan so that people can get potable water at
doorsteps,” he said, insisting that the construction and revamp of rural
drainage and water supply schemes is the Sindh government’s priority.
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