RDA. PHOTO" APP
Maps of new buildings will be passed only if they have drains and tanks to channel and store rainwater, Rawalpindi Development Authority Chairman Tariq Murtaza said talking to The Express Tribune.
Rainwater harvesting is a new phenomenon for the people of Rawalpindi, but it is very useful for saving water for irrigation, gardening, at carwash stations and flush tanks, he said. In short it could be used for anything except human consumption, for which there would be a need of filtration process.
Murtaza said Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) has agreed to help RDA in its first pilot project for rainwater harvesting. RDA and TIKA will sign a memorandum of understanding in the last week of January for three projects of saving rainwater and work will start in February.
TIKA has agreed to foot the bill of rainwater conservation project and bear expenses worth over Rs50 million as a gift for the people of Pakistan. He hoped the pilot project will be the start of a trend for saving millions of gallons of clean water that falls from the heavens.
Murtaza said in the first pilot project, pipes will be laid from Metro Bus Stations at Liaquat Bagh and Committee Chowk to channel rainwater to collection tanks in Liaquat Bagh. This water will be used for irrigation and gardening via sprinklers.
In the third pilot project, all the rainwater will be stored in the newly built water tank in the rear office of RDA from the pipes built at the roof of the office.
In the second pilot project, pipeline and water tanks will be constructed for storage of wastewater from wudu or ablution in Liaquat Bagh Jamia Masjid.
In addition, RDA chairman said that tanks for rainwater in maps of all houses and buildings will be made mandatory. In this way, a huge reservoir of water will be created.
In future, RDA will not pass maps of houses, shopping plazas, and other multi-storey buildings which do not have rainwater tanks.
He said that stored rainwater will be used for a carwash, cleaning floors and irrigation.
Kitchen gardening
TIKA has also agreed to help promote kitchen gardening in Rawalpindi. According to RDA chairman, kitchen gardening project will be launched from February 1. Initially, TIKA will provide 50 moveable stands for growing vegetables in small places. These stands have four racks to keep pots for growing plants therefore four different types of vegetables could be grown on each rack.
Murtaza said people willing to be part of this project will get two stands so that their households could grow eight different types of vegetables at a time.
Moreover, Pakistan Seed Corporation will provide seeds and Punjab Agriculture Department will extend technical support for growing vegetables at homes. Besides this, the gardeners of Punjab Horticulture Authority (PHA) will make visits to guide people in raising their greens. All these services will be free, he said.
The racks were suitable for growing all seasonal vegetables including kitchen essentials like coriander, mint, potato, garlic, fennel, green peppers, carrots and cabbage.
Once successful, Murtaza said, the kitchen gardening project will be extended further and more cultivation stands will be distributed.
In case of extreme weather, these stands could be moved to a safer place in the house. He expressed hope that the private sector will step in and copy these vegetable racks as an enterprise for making profits.
He added that Turkish people get fresh, free vegetables at home by applying the same method at home level.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 4th, 2020.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ