ISLAMABAD: MOL Pakistan Oil & Gas Company has spent over Rs 90 million to ensure provision of clean drinking water to the less developed districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), including Karak, Hangu, Bannu and Kohat. According to a statement on Thursday, MOL Pakistan has funded and executed several water supply schemes including the installation of hand pumps, installation of wells and supply of water through bowsers in far flung areas of the said districts. Water supply to Nizrab Banda, one of the most underdeveloped villages of Hangu was one of such examples where MOL Pakistan has single-handedly completed the project. Citing serious water-borne illness among residents of most of the villages located along the Bannu-Kohat Road due to lack of access to clean water, MOL Pakistan conducted an Electrical Resistivity Survey (ERS) in the area in coordination with the Water Supply and Sanitation Department, Karak. An open well was installed that has catered to the needs of thousands and provided them undisrupted access to clean drinking water. After completion, the scheme was handed over to Public Health Engineering Department. On request of local community of the Hoti Banda village in Kohat, MOL Pakistan conducted a detailed assessment in coordination with government authorities and after analysing the ground situation, the scheme was approved, executed and handed over to Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) for future operations and maintenance. In the far-flung areas of Karak where the situation worsens during summers, MOL Pakistan in collaboration with Karak’s district government sponsored the unconventional scheme of water supply using bowsers. The makeshift arrangement has catered to this urgent need of the locals at several locations in the TAL Block and has been greatly appreciated by the local communities. “MOL Pakistan’s commitment to social welfare was example of a corporation helping society and those in dire need. Whereas many companies see their CSR obligations as a burden, MOL Pakistan has always gone above and beyond the legal requirements to assist people in need. This benevolence is essential for progress and Pakistan needs more generous benefactors to continue to develop as a nation,” the statement concluded. Published in Daily Times, February 23rd 2018.