Operation cleanup: No maintenance for lesser nullahs

11 major tributaries of Nullah Leh remain chocked and untended.

RAWALPINDI:

Passing through some of the populated areas of the city, Leh Nullah is being cleaned by the city authorities for over a month but no attention is being given to cleaning of its tributaries.

A total of Rs32 million will be spent by the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) to clean the Leh Nullah from Dhoke Chariagh Din to Pirwadhai, but its 11 major tributaries responsible for creating much havoc during the rainy seasons remain untended.

A survey of areas along the tributaries, including Pirwadhai, Khyaban-i-Sir Syed, Dhoke Hasso, Ratta Amral, Raja Bazaar, Gawalmandi, Dhoke Chiragh Din and cantonment areas, reveal that these smaller nullahs are choked mainly due to staggering amounts of plastic bags and solid waste. Also, these tributaries have been encroached upon in densely populated areas.

People of these localities complained of inaction of the city government. They said that low-lying areas are prone to flooding during the rainy seasons, which could be minimised by regular cleaning of these nullahs.

Almost every year people suffer millions of rupees in losses from floods mainly caused due to encroachments along Niki Leh in Dhoke Chirgah Din, said a city local Azhar Hussain.

When contacted, a WASA official confirmed that for the past few years the city district government did not clean smaller nullahs in the city despite receiving over Rs40 million to prevent flooding of Leh Nullah. He said that WASA has been assigned by the provincial government to clean Leh Nullah, however, cleaning of smaller nullahs is the responsibility of the city government.

WASA Managing Director Chaudhry Naseer Ahmed said the agency is removing solid waste dumped by residents from Leh Nullah especially near bridges.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 6^th, 2011.