FAISALABAD City News

Joint project to address pot water issues

From Our Correspondent

FAISALABAD: The University of Agriculture Faisalabad and the Water and Sanitation Agency have embarked upon a ‘Joint Research Project’ to address issues relating to waste and ground water.

UAF research scholar Dr Nabeel Khan Niazi told The News on Saturday that along with Dr Irshad Bibi and Dr Hamid Shah they have done initial groundwork on hand-pumps and tube wells and got samples from different areas of Punjab to determine arsenic in drinking water.

Giving alarming figures, he said in 90 per cent of drinking water samples, arsenic concentration was 15-20 times higher than the safe limit set by World Health Organisation at 10 PPB.

He said 55 per cent drinking water samples were found unsafe as per Pakistan Safe Limit of Arsenic in Drinking water.

Dr Nabeel said the drinking water was also unsafe due to very high concentrations of sulfate, nitrate, lead and iron.

He said they have accomplished the fundamental research to use bio-wastes from agriculture and food industry to purify arsenic contaminated drinking water in a grand challenges Canada funder project, saying that it would be expanded for remediation of water and some cheap and easy-to-use filters will be provided to poor communities in arsenic-affected areas.

Dr Nabeel said his UAF team will also use this Biosorbent Technology in collaboration with Wasa for treatment of wastewater and reusing it for irrigation on a large scale after initiating a joint research under the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the UAF and the Wasa.

WRITING CONTEST: A best research article writing competition was held here under the auspices of Pakistan Association of Urological Surgeons.

Eminent urologists from abroad and across the country participated in the contest. The articles were adjudged by a panel of senior researchers. Dr Sheraz Javed got the first position.