Balochistan forms special committee to address issue of high fluoride levels in drinking water

QUETTA: The Balochistan government set up a special committee to address the issue of high fluoride levels in drinking water and to investigate the matter.

This committee consists of the Public Health Engineering Department, sending teams to analyze the level of fluoride content by comprehensive assessment of drinking water, with random samples from the areas to obtain accurate testing results.

The committee will submit its findings in four weeks and will maintain the quality test of water with a standard scientific protocol.

The committee is also charged with coming up with sources of contamination and doing a thorough investigation about the possible cause of pollution.

Minister Khetran further noted that clean drinking water would be made available with utmost seriousness, to safeguard the health and wellbeing of the citizens of Balochistan.

Taimoor Shah Durrani said to be a PhD scholar and teacher at the Department of Hydrochemistry at Balochistan University, carried out a field study on Quetta drinking water.

The degree of fluoride contamination in Quetta drinking water is reported to span the level of 52%, potentially resulting in bone diseases. A utilization of at least 100 tubewells in thickly populated areas during the period 2022-2024 emphasized extreme fluoride concentrations in drinking water.

These alarming results of the findings will ensure urgency in the matter and compel the authorities to take action at the earliest. It is a good step from the government to constitute a committee that should investigate this matter; one hopes the findings and recommendations would end up yielding useful action leading to a supply of clean drinking water to the people of Balochistan.