Clean water

In 2010, the chief justice at the time took suo motu notice of the pollution caused by poultry farms that were situated upstream of the Rawal Dam, which supplies drinking water to Islamabad and Rawalpindi. He asked the administration to ensure that no farm’s waste ended up in the water flowing to the dam as it would contaminate the water.

One wonders if any action was ever taken on those orders. It is critical that the government ensure that no poultry or other untreated industrial waste is dumped into waterways or on land. We are already facing immense pollution-related problems such as smog and water-borne diseases due to our lax attitude toward environmental protection. It is about time that the government and public take serious steps to protect our scarce water resources.

Raja Shafaatullah

Islamabad