Water pollution is one of the major threats to public health in Pakistan. Our country ranks at number 80 among 122 nations with poor drinking water. Both groundwater and surface water are contaminated with toxic metals, pesticides, and coliforms.

Industrialization and urbanization has placed a significant stress on water resources. Factories have been responsible for contaminating water for a long time.  The microorganism and toxic chemicals from industrial and domestic waste when come in contact with water bodies contaminate the water.

Unfortunately, ground water is the elementary source of water supply in most cities of Pakistan. It was estimated that 30 percent of all diseases and 40 percent of all deaths in Pakistan are due to poor water quality. No wonder 2.5 million deaths occur because of epidemic diarrhea diseases each year.

The quality of water in Sindh is beyond poor. Due to lack of water filtration and treatment plants, some people have no option but to consume water polluted with fecal matter. People in remote areas have been fighting with diseases like Cholera, E.coli, Botulism, and even Polio.  The situation is even more dreadful in Thar. The scarcity of water in the underground level has always been a problem in Thar. People have to travel 3 to 4 kilometers from their homes to fetch water from underground wells. On top of that, the water that’s available is saline and contaminated with excessive fluoride which could be responsible for dental and skeletal diseases. Dozens of camels, cows, sheep, and goats have died because of water shortage and now, people could be next.

People of Pakistan deserve filtered water whether they are living in an urban area or a rural area.  The government of Pakistan needs to pay heed to this matter.  Let’s start a petition that we want clean water in every corner of Pakistan. Not just the health of humans, but the health of animals and the environment is, otherwise, at stake.