LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has reiterated her commitment to ensuring access to clean drinking water for every individual and household under the province’s drinking water supply programme.
Chairing a meeting on Monday to review ongoing clean drinking water projects in various districts, the chief minister approved the launch of a pilot project for the supply of potable water through pipelines in selected districts. The meeting was informed that clean drinking water was currently being supplied through filtration plants, bottled-water facilities and water bowsers. Six districts from South, Central and North Punjab have been selected for the piped-water pilot project. The selected districts are Rajanpur, Lahore, Faisalabad, Chakwal, Rawalpindi and Murree/Kotli Sattian.
Maryam directed authorities to consult deputy commissioners, Wasa officials and Public Health Engineering Department experts of the relevant districts before implementing the pilot project. She ordered that low-income households be given priority under the clean drinking water programme and directed authorities to ensure water supply to areas lacking access to safe drinking water sources.
During the meeting, she directly contacted Rajanpur and Chakwal deputy commissioners to inquire about the availability of clean drinking water in their respective districts. Various options for the implementation of clean drinking water projects were discussed during the meeting, including a proposal to execute such projects through public-private partnerships. The chief minister directed that the bottled-water plant be operated at its full capacity.
Maryam Nawaz has said she wants to serve not only the people of Punjab but also those of Sindh and other provinces, adding that she genuinely feels the difficulties being faced by the people of Karachi and Sindh. She was speaking during a meeting with a delegation of the Oxford University Press (OUP) Pakistan, which appreciated the steps taken by the chief minister to improve the quality of education in Punjab. The OUP delegation termed the Nawaz Sharif School of Eminence project commendable and offered full cooperation in the promotion of education. She welcomed the offer of collaboration with the Punjab School Education Department. It was decided during the meeting to launch a pilot project of the Oxford University Press curriculum at the Nawaz Sharif School of Eminence. Under the proposed collaboration, the OUP will provide assistance in digital training programmes for teachers, capacity building, teaching guides and other areas.
In her message issued on the death anniversary of German-Pakistani physician Dr Ruth Pfau, the chief minister said Dr Pfau’s services for eliminating leprosy in Pakistan would always be remembered.
