Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Thursday rejected an initial proposal to impose charges on bottled drinking water, reaffirming that access to safe drinking water should remain a public service.
Construction of 864 water filtration plants has begun across various districts of Punjab, with work on an additional 1,913 plants set to start shortly. Under a pilot project already underway, 10,000 bottles of 19-litre clean drinking water are being supplied free of charge in four districts.
Chairing a special meeting on the Punjab Saaf Pani Authority, the chief minister reviewed progress on the bottled water pilot project and directed that daily progress reports be submitted for the four participating districts. She also instructed the deputy commissioners of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, and Khushab to gather public feedback on the initiative and assess daily demand for clean drinking water in their respective areas.
The meeting also reviewed proposals to deliver clean drinking water to households via water tankers, with the chief minister directing authorities to complete 1,886 water filtration plant projects across Punjab at the earliest. Separately, recommendations were reviewed for establishing 670 bottled drinking water plants across the province, split between 335 plants with a 5,000-litre production capacity and 335 plants capable of producing 10,000 litres each. A proposal was also presented for 4,020 distribution points to supply bottled drinking water.
The meeting was informed that 860 bottles of clean drinking water are currently being supplied daily in Khushab, 780 in Rahim Yar Khan, 1,500 to remote areas of Koh-e-Suleman in Dera Ghazi Khan, and 2,780 to remote areas of Bahawalpur. The CM directed that the number of trucks transporting clean drinking water be increased to ensure uninterrupted supply, saying providing clean water at people’s doorsteps was her personal commitment and that every citizen of Punjab had a right to safe drinking water. “Wherever clean drinking water is not available, bottled water will be delivered under all circumstances,” she said.
Maryam Nawaz said it was deeply painful to see people, particularly women and the elderly, carrying water on their heads, and called it regrettable that many drinking water plants across the province remain non-functional. She said the time had come to end the hardship faced by people in remote areas forced to travel long distances under the scorching sun to fetch water. “By the grace of Almighty Allah, we have made it possible within a short period to deliver clean drinking water to households,” she said, adding that under the Clean Bottled Drinking Water Project, millions of litres of water are now being delivered daily to people’s doorsteps “with dignity and respect.” She concluded: “Clean drinking water is not merely a public facility; it is a firm guarantee of the people’s health, comfort and dignity.”
