The provincial government has decided to give priority to 'access to clean drinking water', and in this regard maximum resources are being allocated for provision of clean drinking water and introduction of effective sewerage system in various parts of the province.
Official sources told Business Recorder, here on Thursday that the government had already spent Rs 8 billion in rural areas for the provision of safe drinking water to the people. The government considers that the demands for public health could not be fulfilled without the provision of potable water to citizens, for which the Tehsil municipal administrations had been provided funds to ensure provision of clean drinking water to the people of rural areas.
A major water supply programme had been initiated in southern Punjab at a cost of Rs 7.5 billion. Only in Multan, an amount of Rs 2.28 billion will be spent in a phased programme for provision of clean drinking water and effective sewerage system, the sources said.
According to them, the provincial government has set a target of supplying potable water in all urban and rural areas of the province by 2015.
It may also be mentioned that for the provision of clean drinking water, the government started the Punjab Clean Water Supply and Sanitation (PCWSS) project with the backing of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 2003. Under the project, 750 schemes that were focusing on the provision of clean water and sanitation in the province at the cost of Rs 4.5 billion would be completed by next July.
Out of the 750 schemes, 500 were new, started by the present government, while 250 were those that were sitting idle. Till now, 300 schemes have been handed over to the local communities after a successful run.
Moreover, health professionals told this scribe that gastroenteritis is an inflammation or irritation of the lining of the stomach and intestines, which often results in diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting or stomach cramps.
In healthy adults, they said gastroenteritis is not usually a serious condition. However, the condition can cause life-threatening dehydration or electrolyte imbalance in infants and children, or in adults unable to care for themselves. People with other medical conditions or weakened immune systems may also be at risk for developing severe gastroenteritis.
They maintained that gastroenteritis is most often caused by viruses spread by close contact with an infected person or by consuming food or water contaminated by bacteria. The condition can also be caused by parasites, protozoan, or chemicals or toxins. Certain types of medications may also cause the condition. In many cases, people with gastroenteritis recover after several days without seeing a physician, they added.
They said that mild cases of gastroenteritis may be treated at home by increasing fluid intake to avoid dehydration. This is particularly important for children, who become dehydrated faster than adults. More severe cases may require hospitalisation where patients are given fluids intravenously (through a vein).
Gastroenteritis may be prevented in a variety of ways. Washing hands thoroughly can help prevent spread of infection. Cooking meat and eggs properly and making sure food is refrigerated properly can help prevent contamination of food, they said. They maintained that hand washing is the simplest and most effective way to reduce the spread of infectious diseases and infections can spread by touching surfaces that have harmful organisms on them.
Comments
Comments are closed.