The deteriorating groundwater quality is not only damaging the agricultural productivity but also posing hazards to the health of people, said University of Agriculture Faisalabad Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan.

The deteriorating groundwater quality is not only damaging the agricultural productivity but also posing hazards to the health of people, said University of Agriculture Faisalabad Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan. He was talking to Water and Sanitation Authority (WASA) Managing Director Zahid Aziz at his chamber. Registrar Muhammad Hussain, Treasurer Umer Saeed Qadri and other notables also attended the meeting. It was decided at the meeting that UAF and WASA will collaborate in water’s analysis, recycling and recharge in order to face up to the challenges of water quality and scarcity that have engulfed the country. Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said that heavy ground water was being pumped out due to increasing trend of tubewells that is the area of concern. He said that only in the province, 1.2 million tubewells are operating that is aggravating the issue. He stressed upon the need to sensitize the public about the rational usage of the water. He also recommended including the topic relating to water use in school text books as part of curriculum that have become need of the hour. He said we are pumping out the water but we don’t have suitable recharge mechanism. It is worsening the issue of water quality and decreasing the groundwater level. He added rapid growth in population, unplanned urbanisation and unsustainable water consumption practices had placed immense stress on water resources. He said that in Australia, rain water harvesting model is adopted that may be replicated in Pakistan and called for sensitizing t he people about the rational usage of water about the Zahid Aziz said that all-out efforts were being made to address the issue in the city. He said that the arsenic level in the groundwater must not be more than 10 micro gram per litre but in Lahore and other places it has touched to 50 micro gram per litre. He stressed upon the need to come up with the viable research solution to the issue. He was of the view that decreasing level and quality of the ground water will pose the threat of the food insecurity. He said in order to ensure the potable drinking water to the people, they had started sale of cane water at the nominal prices for the welfare of the society. They also signed a Memorandum of understanding of lying the main wasa line in the premises of the UAF situated on Jail Road.