Islamabad, March 24 (IANS): The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government in Sindh province of Pakistan is installing 683 solar-powered reverse osmosis plants in the drought-hit areas of Tharparkar and other arid regions to provide 10,000 gallons of safe drinking water daily.

"As the world observes International Water Day, we reiterate our commitment to ensuring a well-irrigated and greener Sindh and Pakistan," PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said in a statement released Sunday. International Water Day was observed March 22.

According to Bilawal, the PPP government has initiated the renewal of 3,420 miles of canals and embankments, construction and repair of 3,890 water courses, installation of 1,762 tube wells, introduction of sprinkle-and-drip irrigation systems and rain guns, and renovation and repair of the Sukkur Barrage, the Dawn online reported.

Five-hundred water treatment plants would be set up in the towns of Keamari and Lyari in Karachi and the world’s biggest water filtration plant would be set up in the district of Shaheed Benazirabad, also in Sindh province, he added.

The PPP government is taking steps to create awareness among the people to use water sparingly so that the drinking water needs and also in the agriculture and industrial sectors can be fulfilled.

The death toll in the drought-hit area of Tharparkar district of Sindh in Pakistan has risen to 140, which includes mainly children.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif earlier this month announced a Pakistani Rs.1-billion (around $9.82 million) aid package for the drought-affected people.

Relief work still continues in the drought-stricken area but providing relief in the remote areas continues to be a problem.