Flooding complaints inundate WASA

Survey of different areas shows several housing societies are knee-deep in rainwater

Offices of the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) and the district government remain flooded with public complaints as the city administration failed to clear rainwater from several neighbourhoods in the provincial capital even on Wednesday.

A survey of different areas of the provincial metropolis shows that several housing societies, like China Scheme, Makkah Colony, Wafaqi Colony, Walton Road, Johar Town, Township and other low-lying areas, are still flooded with knee or ankle-deep rainwater.

A China Scheme resident, Ahmad Raza, highlighted that empty plots and streets of his neighbourhood were still inundated with rainwater, but neither WASA nor any local government official paid attention to the complaints of residents.

“We have registered dozens of complaints at the local WASA office, but cannot find any relief yet. The entire government machinery is busy clearing rainwater from posh areas, but nobody is hearing our complaints,” he maintained.

Residents of Wafaqi Colony, Rizwan, Rasheed Bhatti and Irfan Sharif said rainwater had sunk their entire colony and water had entered in their houses. They said this was due to the fact that the sewerage system of their area was in bad shape.



The residents said they had been trying to clear rainwater from their houses since Tuesday. “We cannot remove inundated water from the street,” one of them said. They demanded the government make prompt arrangements for the quick discharge of rainwater from streets and reduce the miseries of the residents who were stuck in their homes for 18 hours.

Similar complaints were made by other citizens who said the mixing of sewage and rainwater created an unbearable stench. However, sanitation officials were nowhere to be seen. Locals cursed WASA officials for not fulfilling their duties efficiently and asked the caretaker government to take strict action against over the failure to clear rainwater from the city.

Mall Road sinkhole

A number of Lahore Development Authority (LDA), National Engineering Services Pakistan (NESPAK) and district government officials visited the sinkhole site for inspection. However, the OLMT contractor had already filled the sinkhole with mud during the night.

Speaking to media persons, interim Punjab Transport Minister Mian Nouman Kabir said a committee would submit its report about the sinkhole in 48 hours. He underscored that anyone responsible for the appearance of the sinkhole would be taken to task.

Meanwhile, NESPAK Managing Director Amjad Khan called on the interim chief minister at his office and briefed the latter about the ongoing investigation into the Mall Road sinkhole. He indicated that filling was underway after which the road would be opened for traffic.



LDA investigation revealed that a number of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) open ducts located at the sinkhole site near the telecom company’ building became carriers of water seepage under the road. Water from these ducts, over the passage of time, found its way through the subsoil into the under-construction pedestrian underpass.

LDA believed that the unsealed ducts of the telecom company became the cause of erosion of subsoil leading to the formation of a cavity measuring 12-by-15-metres wide and six-metres deep.

They dumped earthen material up to three metres deep, along with sand. To firm up the embankment, authorities added cement on top up to a depth of three-metre. They also laid out aggregate sub-base material to make the road motorable, the LDA spokesman said.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 5^th, 2018.