Call For Mechanism To Control Wastage Of Water At Car Washing Stations

Environment, economics and water experts on Wednesday urged for conservation of millions of litres of clean drinking water being wasted daily at car washing stations.

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Nov, 2018 ) :Environment, economics and water experts on Wednesday urged for conservation of millions of litres of clean drinking water being wasted daily at car washing stations.

They said, "Owing to lack of proper rules and regulations, millions of litres of clean drinking water are being wasted on a daily basis at hundreds of thousands of car wash stations and called for a comprehensive mechanism to curb massive wastage of water in KP".

Engineer Shamsul Mulk, former Chairman Wapda told APP that Pakistan was confronted with acute water shortage and the unchecked car washing business is largely contributing to this issue.

"The excessive use of water at car washing stations is not only causing dropping of ground water level but also leading to water pollution by draining chemically contaminated water in the sewerage line," he maintained.

The draining of chemically contaminated water after washing of cars is making negative effects on life of water species, he said adding, time has come to regulate this business in large interest of masses.

"We need to quickly streamline this lucrative business as without water we can't survive," he said, adding Pakistan may face major water crisis if we did not construct dams for water conservation by 2030.

He said construction of new hydel dams including Diamir Bhasha and Mohmand Dams were imperative to control massive loss of water especially during monsoon to meet the growing energy and agricultural needs of over 200 million population.

He said construction of mega dams was imperative for speedy development, and sustained economic and agricultural growth, besides playing key role in employment opportunities generation, poverty alleviation and bringing direct foreign investment to the country.

"The massive devastation caused by 2010 floods could had easily been averted by constructing new dams and water reservoirs in all potential areas of the country," he added.

He regretted that not a single dam was constructed in the country after Tarbela Dam by any government in the past, and in result the country is facing severe difficulty now.

Economics and financial expert, Sumbal Riaz said car wash business is considered most lucrative as it involves comparatively smaller capital for setting up a station. 'We can collect a lot of money by brining this profitable business under tax-net," she maintained.

She said massive potable water is being wasted on most of these stations where water is being drilled via electric pumps, causing substantial economic loss to the national kitty.

In populated areas, she said the water connections for these stations are mostly offered from the main water supply line and domestic consumers are adversely suffer due to colossal use of potable water for cleaning of vehicles.

She remarked that underground water level would further drop in the coming years, which would create a lot of problems for people seeking potable water and this serious issue could be tackled only with construction of new water reservoirs besides curbing misuse of water practices.

As per international standards, she said, about 40 per cent of the river flows were required to be stored whereas Pakistan had only 13.29 million acre feet (MAF) storage against required standard of 58 MAF, which should be a matter of great concern for policy makers and planners, she said.

The high population growth, misuse of water, climate change, poor water management, lack of political will and urbanization were the main reasons behind the water and energy crisis in the country, she added.

Sumbul said cheapest energy could only be generated through hydel resources and construction of big, medium and small dams.

She said water and energy crisis were taking a heavy toll on the economy, industrial and agricultural growth and emphasized the need for conservation of water at all cost. She suggested proper planning and rules and regulations to save water on these stations.

Syed Ishtiaq Urmar, Provincial Minister for Environment and Forests KP told APP that KP government has started action against those car washing stations operating illegally or wasting water.

He said Govt was committed to regulate this business by installing water meters at service stations.

The Minister said ban on use of non-degradable plastic bags, which are a major cause of environmental and water pollution, has been imposed and strict action would be taken against violators.

"The hospitals were directed to ensure disposal of waste imperative for clean environment," the minister said, adding heavy fine would be imposed on all those stone crushing machines operating in populated areas besides owners of cement and marble factors that failed to install filtration plants to control smoke emission.

He said Environmental Tribunal was setup in Peshawar by the KP Government to dispose of cases on environmental issues.