According to the World Bank, Pakistan is among the most water-stressed countries in the world. In 1951, the per capita water availability in Pakistan was 5,000 cubic meters per annum, which is now 1100 cubic meters. According to Federal Ministry for Environment, Pakistan's population growth rate was 1.9 percent in 2004 and the projected figures for 2010 and 2025 are even more alarming. This means that it will slip below the limit of 1000 cubic meters of water per capita per year from 2010 onwards.

People are also facing severe problems regarding the quality of drinking water and provision of proper sanitation and sewerage facilities. Punjab has been facing a very difficult situation on both fronts.

According to Pakistan Integrated Housing Survey 2001-02, only 18 percent of the total population of Punjab is covered by tap water (50 percent urban and 5 percent rural). Until recently, majority of rural population in Punjab relied on often distant sources of unsafe water, and on an average spends 5 percent of their monthly income to purchase water.

"The situation is not good in urban centres as well. Provision of unclean drinking water is a major issue in Punjab. A recent study of eleven cities of Punjab by Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources shows an excess of arsenic and fluoride concentrations in water supply systems of six cities Multan, Bhawalpur, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Gujranwala, and Lahore," Sohail Nazir, Manager Water Aid Punjab an international NGO working on water and sanitation issues tells TNS. Unicef has also conducted studies and concluded that the population of Punjab in the main cities is exposed to high arsenic concentrations.

"Environmental Protection Agency also compiled a report on quality of sub-soil water in 14 districts of Punjab. The report revealed that 85 percent of samples tested were unfit for human consumption. Alarmingly, according to the report, over two million people are drinking unsafe water, some with high arsenic concentration," he says.

Experts believe drinking water distribution system and sanitation infrastructure in most part of the province are also outdated. "They are posing real threat to the health of common people in Pakistan. In many cities of Punjab, including Lahore, it has been found that water quality at the source is fit for drinking but when it reaches consumers through the present depleted infrastructure, it becomes hazardous for health," Nazir says. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has released a report 'Pakistan's Water at Risk' in October 2009 which states that Lahore's water supply system has a dangerously high level of arsenic and fluorine.

According to the report, major cities of Punjab are exposed to high levels of arsenic. "85 per cent of the samples from different areas of Punjab are found unfit for human consumption. Only one per cent of wastewater was treated by industries before being discharged into rivers and drains," the report says.

The report also finds that level of compliance to law related to drinking water and environment is extremely low. "Basically, the present environment and water laws do not clearly define the roles and responsibilities of different departments working on these sectors. The unregulated groundwater abstraction is the cause of water depletion. There are no clear guidelines, rules or regulations for groundwater abstraction. In addition, surprisingly, there are also no surface water classification standards in the country," he adds. Such rules and regulations must be established at the earliest, says Hammad Naqi Khan, Director Freshwater and Toxics Programme of WWF. He thinks strong law enforcement and compliance are necessary for the protection of freshwater resources and thus the health of people. "Approximately 60 percent of infant deaths are due to water-borne diseases in our country. Thirty percent of all reported cases of illness like hepatitis, diarrhoea, typhoid and dysentery and 40 percent of deaths in Pakistan are attributed to water-born diseases. One hundred million cases of diarrhoea are being registered for treatment in hospitals of Pakistan each year," he discloses.

Government officials are well-aware of the situation and admit that at present there is no proper system to check quality of drinking water. According to them, the Punjab government these days is busy finalizing a draft to establish drinking water and sanitation regulatory authority in the province. "At present there is no law in our province regarding use or abuse of drinking water. The majority of existing laws are related to irrigation water. The new act will define the role of different stakeholders both in private and public sectors. According to the act, a regulatory authority comprising technocrats, public representatives and administrators will be made to ensure the implementation of minimum standards of drinking water and sanitation," says Irfan Ali, Secretary Housing, Urban Development and Public Health Engineering. According to him, the source of water is being polluted by different industrial as well as agricultural activities, but nobody can stop them. "The act will fix the responsibility of different departments and authorities regarding checking the availability of clean drinking water, provision of sanitation and sewerage facilities and checking the different sectors responsible for pollution of water," he says.

Nazir Wattoo, President Anjuman Samaji Behbood Faisalabad and chairman of the committee that has formulated the first draft of the Punjab Drinking Water Act, says drinking water and sanitation are the most neglected sectors in Pakistan. "Making an act is a good step towards sustainability of water resources and provision of services to people, but the main issue that needs to be addressed in water and sanitation sector is absence of proper planning, documentation and management. The physical documentation of these enormous investments has not been carried out. In the absence of this documentation, rational and economic solutions at the town and city level cannot be developed. It is because of the absence of mapping that treatment plants have been placed far away from the locations where sewage is actually disposed of," he tells TNS.

Mapping is also required of areas where sanitation projects have to be developed and investments have to be made. "Therefore, what exists and what is required have to be mapped at the city, tehsil/town and union council levels both for urban and rural areas," he concludes.

MOOD SREET

We live in interesting times. Since 9/11 and for some of us even before that, the question of faith and to be precise what is the true nature of following one, has been a difficult one. My feelings about faith are tied and pushed and pulled constantly between Russia and Sweden.

In what I call the lost weekend, (it was actually two weeks) depressed and out of my head I went to Karachi, never went to the beach, and with my cousin, constantly watched Ingmar Bergman (who is Swedish) films every night.

Bergman, in any scenario, whether down, out and hopeless or on top of the world, is an extremely hard director to watch. Because there is no idea of a higher power in his work or of a one that is silent, Bergman's emphasis, as so often, is on the face. What it reveals and what it hides.

And so often, Bergman in cool detached strokes, using minimal compositions illustrates that humans are frail, cruel and constantly at odds about their identity. We will forever be trapped in symbolic obscurities and psychological alienation from others. When someone asked Bergman about God in an interview, he said, "God is perfection and I know nothing about him because I am imperfect."

Bergman's films although immaculate, remain somewhat heartless. What disturbs me about Bergman and in relation about myself, is the idea that after the numerous complex layers are peeled of a person, there is nothing left, not a whiff of what we believe is a soul, that at the very core of existence that should mean something, there is nothing except a black void of emptiness and the fact that even with such emptiness we must live.

The other one is Russian Andrei Tarkovsky. Where both Bergman and Tarkovsky could be considered filmmakers who made films so slow that they feel like dreams or nightmares, Tarkovsky is the complete opposite of Bergman. Where Bergman relished in spiritual absence, Tarkovsky's films are obsessed with religious belief and nature. Where Bergman focuses only the face, Tarkovsky shows haunting images of running water, clouds and rain. Both ponder the human existence but very differently.

His film Stalker might be one of the simplest films ever made: a guide, or stalker, takes two people, Writer and Professor -- who might be interpreted as three sides of the same person -- into a forbidden area called the zone, at the heart of which is the room, where your deepest wish will come true. The journey to the zone is periodically halted by contentious arguments in which initial assumptions about each character are challenged: the writer's quest for inspiration is muddled by his self-loathing, contempt for others and moments of nihilistic despair; the professor's desire for knowledge is upended by the climactic revelation about his true motives for venturing to the room; and the stalker's conviction that his job is a righteous one--and that others derive something good and worthwhile from his expeditions--is somewhat contradicted by his own fearful refusal to enter the room.

In the course of the film no ones goes into the room and at the very end where the plain declaration of love and a vision of pure magic at least point the way to redemption, the guide asks his wife a very simple question,"Why does no one believe?"

So there is the tug, do you believe? or what you do believe is nothing but a deep black void into nothingness?

*Creations by legendary artist MA Rahman Chughtai (1897-1975) on display at

Chughtai Museum on the artist's 35th death

anniversary. Today is the last day.

*Exhibition titled 'Char Rah' at The Drawing Room Art Gallery till Mon, Jan 18.

*Solo show by Naheed Fakhar's miniatures at Hamail Art Gallery, Gulberg till Fri, Jan 22.

*Exhbition: 'Essence of Natural Reserves' by Muhammad Arshad at Ejaz Art Gallery till Fri, Jan 22.

*Exhibition of paintings by Anbrin Zafar at Nairang Gallery

till Mon, Jan 25.

*Talk by Vazira Fazila-Yacoobali Zamindar, Assistant Professor of

History, Brown University, USA, author of The Long Partition and

the Making of Modern South Asia.

*Young Leaders and Entrepreneurs summit 2010 from

Tue, Jan 19 to Sat, Jan 23.

*Lecture on The Life and Times of Frantz Fanon by Qalandar Bux Memon: Editor of Naked Punch and lecturer in Political Science at Forman Christian College at Cafe Bol on Sat, Jan 23.

*FAMILYCON 2010: Pakistan Assocation of Family

Physicians from Fri, Jan 22 to Sun, Jan 24.

theatre

Street theatre or parallel theatre has been an effective means of spreading the desired message among the masses, especially in rural settings. This mode of communication has been used by several theatre groups in the country to bring important issues under discussion and suggest solutions to them through theatrical performances. It has been observed that people who would otherwise not lend ear to long speeches or sermons are easily attracted by these performances in hordes.

In the recent past, several theatre groups like Ajoka and Rasti have raised awareness about issues like AIDS/HIV, Karo Kari, extremism and violence against women through street plays.

Organisers of street theatres tour different areas and arrange artistic performances for the audience that comprises mainly villagers. As most of these villagers are associated with agriculture, the issues pertaining to this sector have a great appeal for them.

How to arrange money to sow crop, which pesticides and fertilisers to buy and how to maximize the yields, are the questions that regularly come to farmers' minds. With the aim to answer such questions and suggest timely solutions to the problems faced by farmers, a group of artistes formed a theatre group Dost Natak last year.

Headed by Syed Mohsin Ali (CEO of Dost Natak), who has performed in many plays staged by Ajoka, the group toured 10 cities of Punjab including Faisalabad, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Bahawalpur, Lodhran and Rahim Yar Khan and gave 30 theatrical performances of the play -- 'Aih Mera Punjab Aye' (This is my Punjab). The performances were arranged in collaboration with WWF-Pakistan.

Talking to TNS, Mohsin says right decisions about the selection of crop to be sown and pesticides and fertilisers to be used are vital for a healthy harvest. "It is imperative to guide farmers throughout the cultivation process and stop them from taking wrong steps. The plot of play 'Aih Mera Punjab Aye' revolves around the issues that confront rural households and the agrarian community," he adds.

The lead character of the play is an aged headstrong farmer (played by Mohsin) who does not pay heed to any advice and keeps on taking one wrong step after the other. His would-be son-in-law is associated with an NGO that provides assistance to farmers in the area but he does not even listen to his advice. Towards the end of the play, he realises that he is knee deep into debt. The dealer, who had persuaded him to buy wrong inputs and enter into deals with private moneylenders, demands money from him instead of giving him the proceeds from the sale of the produce.

The farmer had plans to marry his daughter off after the harvest season, but now he is unable to bear the expenses. At this crucial time, ordinary people of the village come forward to help him out. The farmer is moved by the spirit of fellow villagers and he repents over the wrong steps he had taken in the past. He vows he will listen to friendly advice in future and never be fooled by unscrupulous elements.

Mumtaz Ahmed, a monitoring officer in WWF's Freshwater and Toxic Programme, tells TNS the script of the play has been approved jointly by WWF and Dost Natak. He says the street theatre was made part of the funds campaign to promote judicious use of water, pesticides and agrochemicals among the producers of cotton and sugarcane.

Ahmed says it proved to be an effective means to send the message across as large number of farmers and their family members turned up to view the performances. "On one occasion the number of farmers was around 2,000", he recalls. Ahmed says, "The whole village seems involved in the activity as announcements about the time and venue of the play are made from mosques, offices of the village councils and so on. A drummer also goes around the village, inviting people to the play."

Exercise in 'confidence'

The 'Debate and Essay Writing Competitions' organised by the Punjab government has brought to the fore public sector schools which have performed better than the private schools in the province.

Lahore Division is rightly considered the most challenging division due to its rich educational environment. Yet, the government schools -- commonly called 'yellow schools' -- have scored some significant victories over private schools. In primary level speeches, government schools have snatched all the positions except one.

Wajid Husain Malik Deputy DEO Chakwal sees it as "an amazing change" as at least in the Chakwal district they remained far ahead of private schools in matric examination 2009.

Main objective of competitions is to polish the potential of talented students and enable them to express their views with courage and without any hesitation, says Mian Abdul Haq DPI (Secondary Education) Punjab, the chairman of provincial level committee to monitor this programme. No discrimination is made between public and private schools, he assured and added that this programme is only for students; hence students from all government and private institutions are provided opportunities to participate. This is why 85,616 students have participated at markaz level.

The format of these competitions is plain but exigent. It comprises five phases; markaz, tehsil, district, divisional and provincial. Target groups of students are primary, middle, secondary, intermediate, degree and post-graduate. These groups are contesting in both languages; Urdu and English. Boys and girls are competing separately in their respective groups. Top three position holders of every contest automatically qualify for the next phase.

Judges were experienced teachers. "Their honesty and integrity is above question. Just to insure impartiality, no local judge was appointed at any level," says the DPI. There were appellate committees at every level to deal with a complaint, if one came up, the DPI explains.

Majority of teachers and students were pleased with the result. "Much improved standard of judgments than last year," a high school teacher says, though his student did not qualify for next phase. In one contest in Chakwal, Muhammad Hassan, a student of class 9, who secured 1st position in Urdu essay at divisional level, says that the competition was so tough that judges took five hours to decide.

On the other hand, Ali Ahmed, Vice Principal of The Learning School, Kot Radha Kishan, Kasur, has a different view. "Our boy and girl wrote the same English essay. The boy stood first in Kasur District while the girl did not get any position." Communication gap has been observed in many parts of Punjab regarding conveyance of topics.

At places teachers and students faced great embarrassment due to misunderstandings about the topic as schools were informed about them through telephone.

The topic of secondary Urdu speech at district level was "Ihsas-e-morawat ko kuchal daitay hain halaat". Many misconstrued "halaat" (circumstances) as "aalaat" (devices). It created a lot of embarrassment among the affected contestants and their teachers. Abdul Basit, a competitor from a remote school of Chakwal, lamented, "I was sure of getting a position, as my teacher worked very hard with me, but this misapprehension led me to complete failure." The response of the headmaster of Basit's school was also the same. "We were informed by phone, not in writing. This created misunderstandings as the actual verse of Allama Iqbal's poem "Lenin ke hazoor mein" includes the word 'aalaat' not 'halaat'. Even, the list of proposed essays provided by the department includes the same word."

Asked, whether he will take up the matter with the authorities, he said, "Done is done. It can't be undone now."

Similar problem was reported from Kasur where 50 per cent of primary students boycotted the district level English debate held at Government Girls High School, Haji Farid Road, after the topic was 'suddenly' changed from 'Punctuality' to 'My aim in life'. The students alleged that the education department did not inform them about the change of topic.

In Government College Asghar Mall Rawalpindi, a boy from Attock district misunderstood the topic of middle Urdu speech as "Insanyat Momin Ka Meeraj Hai". It was actually "Insanyat Momin Ke Meeras Hai". "Why did they not inform in writing. They are playing with our sentiments," he cried against the concerned authorities. This problem can be solved very easily by giving an ad in newspapers, an experienced man suggests.

Though the canvas of these competitions is very vast, a large section of students belonging to madrassahs were not in picture. Despite the claims made by the various governments from time to time, to bring these students into mainstream educational system, they have once again been ignored. Dr. Muhammad Amin, a religious scholar and the head of SAFA Institute in Allama Iqbal Town Lahore, says this is unfair on the part of the government. "Khutabaat (art of religious speech) and Kitaabat (art of literary writing) are essential parts of our curriculum, our students can prove their worth if given an opportunity," says Dr Amin. "Though our institute is very small, we arranged a competition last year at Lahore level to encourage students. We are planning the same this time," he says.

Secretary Schools Education Punjab, Mohammad Aslam Kamboh, has a different view. "According to my information, religious students were invited to the competition. We shall always welcome their students provided they affix primary classes within their existing setup," he assured.

Some teachers are critical of these competitions. They say it promotes rote learning. Students have to write and speak on pre-selected topics and the competition is just an exercise in memorizing written material. "This obstructs creativity and logical thinking -- and makes a pupil a parrot," says a senior educationist.

But Mohammad Aslam Kamboh, Secretary Schools, says, "the debate is not just memorization of contents, many things count like confidence, gestures and accent etc. Preparing speech under the guidance of teacher has remained a practice for centuries. I myself have participated in many debates during my studies and am well aware of the fact that this is not a fluke but a hundred meters hurdles race," the secretary elaborated.