A study found that 52 per cent of drinking water in Quetta is contaminated with high levels of fluoride, a hidden poison that is causing bone diseases.
The research was conducted by Taimoor Shah Durrani, a PhD scholar and teacher at the Department of Hydrochemistry at Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS),
He collected water samples from atleast 100 tubewells in densely populated areas between 2022 and 2024.
The study’s findings are alarming, with a significant concentration of fluoride detected in the drinking water.
In 27% of the areas in northwest and central Quetta, the fluoride level was found to be as high as 3.4 mg, exceeding the safe limits.
In contrast, 25% of the samples from the northeast upper areas showed fluoride levels below the recommended limits.
According to Durrani, the areas with the highest fluoride levels are located in the central belt of the valley, including Sariab, Double Road Mian Ghandi, and Nohisar.
With a population of 2.5 million, the majority of Quetta’s residents are drinking this contaminated water, putting them at risk of fluoride-related health problems.
