Smart water metering, rational pricing stressed

Islamabad : Smart water-metering and rational pricing in urban areas is needed to ensure equitable and leakage-free domestic water supplies to the people, while the National Water Policy 2018 calls for 100% water metering for urban, peri-urban and rural areas.

On this note, a one-day seminar was organised by the Centre for Climate Research and Development (CCRD), COMSATS University, Islamabad, in collaboration with the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Islamabad.

Addressing the occasion, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhary said the future of Pakistan lies in wisdom, education, and science and technology. "There is a need to develop technological skills in competitive areas," he said.

The minister said his ministry envisioned for its 15 research institutions as centres for research excellence, making way for the private sector to utilise their knowledge in developing technologies for people.

Mr Daniel Valenghi, head of the international cooperation at SDC, Islamabad, highlighted the prolonged partnership of Pakistan and Switzerland in the area of Water and hoped that such relations would foster in the future as well.

Dr. Muhammad Ashraf, chairman of the PCRWR, said the overuse of water at the domestic level increased the volume of highly contaminated wastewater.

"Water metering at the domestic level is crucial to reduce such waste and non-revenueable water," he said.

The CCRD head, Prof Dr. Athar Hussain, shed light on the importance of academia and research organization partnership leading to the involvement of youth in evidence-based policymaking.