K-P CM wants detailed plans on Peshawar’s drains

Wants new standards implemented for heavy vehicles and workshops

PESHAWAR: With monsoon rains lashing different parts of the province and different urban areas — particularly the provincial capital — submerged under collected rainwater, the chief minister on Tuesday called for devising an effective long-term strategy to ensure that this does not happen again.

This was stated by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan while chairing a meeting on the drainage system in Peshawar.

During the meeting, CM Mahmood was told that the current drainage system in the city is incapacitated due to which water collects on the roads during rains, rendering them impassable and creating problems for residents. The CM was told about all the spots where water was pooling, where the dirt was collecting and the absence of clean drinking water for residents.

To resolve the issue of standing rainwater in the provincial capital, work on building new storm drains in the Suri Pul area is expected to commence in September this year, the Peshawar commissioner said. He added that the construction of a new drain system is part of their plan to resolve the issue of standing water in the provincial capital.

Mahmood was further told that the project concept-I (PC-I) for the drain has been finalised and that it is estimated to cost around Rs71 million.

For areas around the Ring Road in Peshawar, a seven Kilometre drain is being built from Gulbahar to Pakha Ghulam. Of this, a two-kilometre stretch has been completed. The project is expected to cost Rs420 million to complete.

To solve the issue of water supply, CM Mahmood was told that some 40 tube-wells in the city have been rehabilitated to improve supply.

The commissioner told the meeting that while they are working to improve the quality of water sources, the quality of water deteriorates before reaching consumers owing to the work out nature of water supply pipelines installed in the city.

To improve on this area, the Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (WSSP) has started rehabilitating water supply pipelines in the 43 Union Councils of Peshawar. Under the project, around eight kilometres of the pipeline have been rehabilitated.

Work on the remaining two kilometres of the pipeline is underway, officials said.

CM Mahmood directed the Peshawar commissioner to identify all the points for draining water at critical locations along the seven-kilometre long drain to ensure a permanent solution for the long-standing issue.

Further, Mahmood directed the commissioner to develop a comprehensive plan in consultation with the Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) and the WSSP over the next month and to ensure the availability of clean drinking water and beautification of the provincial capital on a priority basis.

During the meeting, Mahmood took serious notice of the pollution caused by heavy vehicles, especially fuel-guzzling vehicles, on their return from workshops, especially during rains.

In this regard, he called on the Peshawar commissioner to devise and implement standards for workshops, including paved floors in all workshops of Peshawar. All those workshops which fail to adhere to the standards even after due warnings, the chief minister directed to seal those workshops.

Mahmood stated that the incumbent government will take all necessary measures to make Peshawar a model provincial capital by ensuring a clean and healthy environment for its residents.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7^th, 2019.