F.P. Report
LOWER DIR: Speakers at a function pointed out that about 250,000 children died of consuming contaminated water each year in Pakistan. The Al-Khidmat Foundation (AKF) arranged the function at a private school in Talash here to mark the World Water Day that is observed each year on March 22nd.
The assistant commissioner Timergara Dr Nida Iqbal, AKF project manager clean drinking water Naseeb Zada, engineer Muhammad Ali, Ihsanullah and others addressed the function which was attended by social and political activists, students and area elders.
The speakers said that ‘water for peace’ was declared the theme of the Day as water scarcity always led to conflicts among individuals, communities and tribes. They said that clean water reservoirs across the globe were rapidly decreasing due to which about 700 million people would have to be migrated in the world by 2030.
The speakers said that about 2.2 billion around the world and 22.1 million people in Pakistan did not have clean drinking water close to their homes. They pointed out that only 20 percent of the total population had access to safe drinking water in the country.
The speakers were of the view that many infectious diseases were spread in communities due to consumption of contaminated water. They suggested the governments and concerned quarters should take adequate measures to provide safe drinking water to people in Pakistan.
The speakers feared that future wars would be fought for water if the issue was not tackled thoughtfully. They asked people of Pakistan to avoid the wastage of clean drinking water and use little water while taking a bath or making ablution.
HCC visits private clinics for registration: The healthcare commission (HCC) has asked the owners of private clinics, medical laboratories and pharmacies to get them registered with the commission soon. Sources in the health department told this reporter that a total of team teams formed by the HCC on the directives of the provincial government would soon visit the Lower Dir district for registering private clinics, medical laboratories and pharmacies.
The sources said the process of registration would continue till March 31st. The HCC has asked the owners to get them registered with those teams as soon as possible and help it end quackery in the region.
Bajaur-Dir bridge construction enters to final stage: Jamiat Ulema Islam Fazl leader Maulana Muhammad Nabi Shah claimed that work on the Talash Bridge over a dry stream at Shamshi Khan was in its final stage.
Talking to local journalists at Timergara the JUI-F leader said the bridge was being built with a cost of Rs 90 million and the traffic to Upper Dir, Bajaur, Chitral and upper parts of Lower Dir would be diverted on it after Eid ul Fitr. Maulana Nabi Shah said that several people had lost lives in the past because of floods in Talash stream. He said that former federal minister Maulana Assad Mahmood took notice of the matter and approved appropriate funds for the bridge.
