Multan’s drainage system is creating water-borne infections.

MULTAN: The city’s over-30-year-old sewerage system, combined with a scarcity of clean drinking water in a city blessed with abundant water resources, is causing water-borne diseases among its residents.

The poorest levels of society fare the worst, with minimal access to basic essentials of life. Growing urbanisation, along with unsustainable water use habits, has been discovered to have an impact on the quality and quantity of water resources in the country.

Lake, river, and groundwater aquifer contamination harms the body’s immune system. The salinity of groundwater has been observed to rise with time. Toxic chemicals and heavy metals contaminated industrial wastewater is released directly into public sewers, leading in epidemics of illnesses such as cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, and dengue fever.

Those that can afford it either construct a mini-water-filtration system or buy water from commercial businesses and have it delivered to their houses. A 10-liter water cane, which costs roughly Rs110, is utilised through a water dispenser worth approximately Rs20,000, and it has become a need in almost every home.

“A big bottle filled with the specified amount of water lasts a week during the present winter season but just two days at most during the summer,” a lady explained.

The filtration system installed within the property is also updated on a weekly basis, which costs roughly Rs500.

“However, because of its limited capacity to purify water, it cannot ensure that the water generated by the filtration system installed within the residence is pure,” Kashan and Zainul Abidin explained.