PCRWR declares 13 brands of bottled water unsafe
National
January 24, 2021
Islamabad: Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) in its quarterly report has declared 13 brands of bottled water as unsafe for human consumption.
According to the comparison of test results with permissible limits of Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA), 13 brands were unsafe for human consumption. For the last quarter (October to December, 2020), 119 samples of bottled/ mineral water brands were collected from Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Quetta, Gilgit, D. G. Khan, Multan, Faisalabad, Karachi, Bahawalpur, Tando Jam, Sialkot, Muzaffarabad and Lahore.
Five brands (i.e. MASKOOB, Blue Life, ONE, Dropice, Blue Plus) were found to be unsafe due to presence of higher levels of sodium ranging from 64-100 mg/L than PSQCA bottled water quality standard for Sodium (50 mg/L).
Agriculture has contributed 18.9 percent, since 2010, to the GDP
The agriculture sector has always been a major contributor to the national economy in Pakistan. According to official data, it has contributed 18.9 percent, since 2010, to the GDP (gross domestic product) down from about 40 percent in early ’60s. It provides livelihood to 42.3 percent of the labour force. While agriculture has traditionally been called the backbone of Pakistan’s economic growth, agriculturists say the sector is facing tremendous problems.
Major crops (wheat, rice, sugarcane, maize and cotton) account for 23.60 percent of value addition in agriculture sector and 4.45 percent in the GDP. The other crops account for 10.80 percent in value addition in agriculture sector and 2.04 percent in the GDP.