Events held to mark Int’l Water Day

PESHAWAR: In order to mark the International Water Day, a seminar and walk were arranged at the University of Peshawar to raise awareness about water conservation.

The seminar was jointly organised by the AlKhidmat Foundation and the Area Study Centre. Presided over by district president of the foundation Arbab Abdul Haseeb, the seminar was addressed by Dr Bushra Khan, provincial vice-president of the foundation Hafiz Hameedullah, Adil Hussain, Kamran Zareen and others.

The speakers on the occasion said that the international water day is observed in the world every March 22. They said that the foundation launched 853 water projects worth Rs 137.1 million in the province.

Some 0.111 million people take advantage of these projects on a daily basis. Water filtration plants were installed in various areas to provide clean water to the people. The seminar was followed by an awareness walk which was participated by students, faculty members and representatives of civil society organisations.

The Engineering Council (PEC) and Institution of Engineers Pakistan (IEP) also organised an event to mark the day.PEC Think-Tank on Water deliberated for enhancing climate-resilient water and food security and resolution of provincial and transboundary water governance related issues.

Dr Syed Raghib Abbas Shah, convener WRDC, highlighted the policy level contribution of PEC in developing and sharing technical reports, policy recommendations for the government on groundwater and flood management, water conservation strategies, rainwater harvesting code for resilient future against the climate change addressing the rural and urban flood disasters to minimise climate change impacts.

In Chitral, a function was also organised to mark the day under the Glof project. Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Commissioner Imran Khan called for joint efforts to tackle climate-triggered challenges. “We are taking steps to meet the climate-related challenges in collaboration with the local communities,” he added.