CM seeks urgent reports on drinking water shortages from DCs

LAHORE, Jul 14 (APP): Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday directed deputy commissioners across the province to identify areas lacking access to safe drinking water and submit immediate reports as the provincial government accelerated efforts to improve clean water availability.

Chairing a special meeting on the rehabilitation of water filtration plants, the chief minister instructed district administrations to identify localities where residents have to travel long distances to obtain potable water and assess the drinking water needs of areas facing acute shortages.

She also sought immediate reports from the deputy commissioners of Khushab, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan on the prevailing drinking water situation in their districts.

The meeting was informed that bottling plants had been made operational in the worst-affected districts, including Khushab, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan, and bottled drinking water would be transported to affected communities through trucks. Officials said the Khushab bottling plant had the capacity to produce 50,000 bottles of water per hour.

The meeting approved the establishment of four additional bottling plants under the CM Punjab Clean Drinking Water Project. Officials further informed the meeting that 2,258 water filtration plants would be established across the province, while cluster-based plants equipped with water storage tanks would also be set up to improve access to safe drinking water.

In the first phase, 22 cluster-based plants will be established in Bahawalpur Division and 10 in Rajanpur.

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also directed the authorities to immediately address complaints regarding non-functional water filtration plants and instructed deputy commissioners to ensure the repair and restoration of damaged or closed facilities in their respective districts to provide uninterrupted access to clean drinking water.