We who live in the United States tend to take it for granted that when we go into a restaurant and order a glass of water, what we'll receive is a safe, clean beverage.
In Pakistan, however, people don't have this luxury.
It has been estimated that 90% of all restaurants in the country serve water which contains quantities of unsafe bacteria and chemicals which can be dangerous for their customers to ingest.
Although there are standards that they are supposed to meet with the water they serve, authorities tend to look the other way, even though public health is at stake.
A host of bacteria live in these waters.
They are the kind that cause dysentery, typhoid, cholera, hepatitis A and E, and severe diarrhea which leads to dehydration.
Many customers who have read about these problems in local newspapers are appalled that the restaurant owners aren't taking more precautions to ensure that the water they serve is safe and that government officials are failing to get the problem in hand.
They believe that the fact that they are being charged for the water they are given should bear some weight in the requirements placed on restaurant owners, and that these owners need to be severely punished for water violations.
On inspection, it was discovered that many of the restaurants stored water in substandard conditions.
For example, the water may be stored in barrels which have previously been used to hold oil and chemical products.
Even underground storage tanks made just for water have been found to be in terrible condition.
In the summer months, the problem is even greater, and still no one in authority is trying to do anything about it.
Approximately 1.
2 million Pakistanis die of waterbourne illnesses every year.
It's no wonder that the people are up in arms about the continuing problem.
Water pollution is a major threat to public health all over the country of Pakistan.
When tested for bacterial concentrations in 2004, it was found that the water pumped through tube wells was about 33% contaminated.
That number had jumped to an appalling 65% by 2008.
Nine out of ten glasses of water used for drinking throughout Pakistan has been deemed as not being fit for human consumption.
Audits conducted on public water sources, distribution channels, water storage tanks, and filtering systems have shown that these systems are antiquated and in horrifying condition.
When Department of Health officials were contacted regarding the concerns of the people about the safety of drinking water, they responded by saying that they had planned to launch an investigation in which water samples from the various restaurants would be sent to laboratories for analysis.
So far, however, the problem has not been addressed, and people are continuing to get ill from contaminated water.
The people are right in their assessment that the government needs to take over and see that the problem is corrected.
People require safe water in order to live, and in the modern world, it's the responsibility of governments to stop procrastinating and meet these needs.
In Pakistan, however, people don't have this luxury.
It has been estimated that 90% of all restaurants in the country serve water which contains quantities of unsafe bacteria and chemicals which can be dangerous for their customers to ingest.
Although there are standards that they are supposed to meet with the water they serve, authorities tend to look the other way, even though public health is at stake.
A host of bacteria live in these waters.
They are the kind that cause dysentery, typhoid, cholera, hepatitis A and E, and severe diarrhea which leads to dehydration.
Many customers who have read about these problems in local newspapers are appalled that the restaurant owners aren't taking more precautions to ensure that the water they serve is safe and that government officials are failing to get the problem in hand.
They believe that the fact that they are being charged for the water they are given should bear some weight in the requirements placed on restaurant owners, and that these owners need to be severely punished for water violations.
On inspection, it was discovered that many of the restaurants stored water in substandard conditions.
For example, the water may be stored in barrels which have previously been used to hold oil and chemical products.
Even underground storage tanks made just for water have been found to be in terrible condition.
In the summer months, the problem is even greater, and still no one in authority is trying to do anything about it.
Approximately 1.
2 million Pakistanis die of waterbourne illnesses every year.
It's no wonder that the people are up in arms about the continuing problem.
Water pollution is a major threat to public health all over the country of Pakistan.
When tested for bacterial concentrations in 2004, it was found that the water pumped through tube wells was about 33% contaminated.
That number had jumped to an appalling 65% by 2008.
Nine out of ten glasses of water used for drinking throughout Pakistan has been deemed as not being fit for human consumption.
Audits conducted on public water sources, distribution channels, water storage tanks, and filtering systems have shown that these systems are antiquated and in horrifying condition.
When Department of Health officials were contacted regarding the concerns of the people about the safety of drinking water, they responded by saying that they had planned to launch an investigation in which water samples from the various restaurants would be sent to laboratories for analysis.
So far, however, the problem has not been addressed, and people are continuing to get ill from contaminated water.
The people are right in their assessment that the government needs to take over and see that the problem is corrected.
People require safe water in order to live, and in the modern world, it's the responsibility of governments to stop procrastinating and meet these needs.