Pure Drinking Water Flows in Historic Malka Hans: Iris Foundation Installs RO Plants Across Pakpattan Villages

Malka Hans, an ancient and historically revered town in Pakpattan District famous as the place where Sufi poet Hazrat Waris Shah penned his masterpiece *Heer Ranjha*, has long faced a silent public health emergency: severe groundwater contamination.

With local underground aquifers suffering from brackish salinity, elevated Total Dissolved Solids (TDS exceeding 1,450 ppm), and industrial agricultural runoff, children in local government schools were forced to drink contaminated water or bring lukewarm bottles from home that ran dry before noon. Stomach infections, dysentery, kidney strain, and chronic lethargy had plagued attendance for years.

### A Historic Intervention at Government High School Malka Hans

Recognizing the urgent need, Iris Foundation deployed its engineering team to conduct comprehensive chemical and microbiological water tests at Government High School Malka Hans.

With generous philanthropic support from our dedicated donors, we installed a commercial-grade 500-liter-per-hour Reverse Osmosis (RO) filtration plant, equipped with multi-stage sediment filters, activated carbon pre-filtration, high-pressure semi-permeable membranes, and ultraviolet (UV) sterilization.

The results were transformative: - **TDS Levels Plummeted:** From an unsafe 1,450 ppm down to an optimal, WHO-certified 160 ppm. - **Microbial Pathogens Completely Eradicated:** Zero traces of coliforms or pathogenic bacteria. - **Immediate Health Turnaround:** School management reported a 35% drop in waterborne illness-related absences within just 60 days of installation. - **1,200+ Students & Faculty Empowered:** Cold, refreshing, hygienic drinking stations installed across the school courtyard.

### Extending Hope to Surrounding Rural Villages of Pakpattan

The transformation at Malka Hans became the catalyst for a wider rural village initiative. In surrounding villages across the Pakpattan rural belt, where hand pumps draw arsenic-laced groundwater, Iris Foundation has established a cluster of community-school RO filtration plants.

Together with the Malka Hans plant, this network now delivers more than 15,000 liters of purified water daily to over 3,000 schoolchildren and village residents who previously had no access to safe drinking water.

### Sustainable Maintenance & Stewardship

Unlike short-lived charity projects that fail when filters clog, Iris Foundation implements an active maintenance covenant for every installation. A designated local school caretaker is trained in membrane flushing and daily pressure monitoring, while our technical team conducts quarterly filter replacements and digital TDS audits.

Clean water in Malka Hans and Pakpattan is proof that when targeted donor support meets disciplined engineering, the trajectory of entire generations is permanently altered.