After drain cleanup, CDA to resume wetland construction

Wetlands will be constructed in Saidpur and Sector E-11

ISLAMABAD:

With work on cleaning storm drains and nullahs nearing its end for the year as the monsoon season wanes, the civic agency of the federal capital has decided to once again turn its focus on building further wetlands in the city.

Officials of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) on Saturday said that work on a site identified near Saidpur is expected to be completed later this year. Another wetland is expected to be constructed in Sector E-11. There are two major springs and nullahs which emerge from these areas.

The wetlands aim to reduce the flow of contaminated water into these nullahs.

These wetlands will be built on a design similar to the one built in Noorpur Shahan earlier this year by the CDA through the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) in compliance with orders from the Supreme Court.

CDA officials said that wetlands are an extremely low-cost solution for naturally improving the quality of water flowing into these streams.

On cleaning natural drains in the federal capital to ensure drainage of rainwater, CDA officials said that around 70 per cent of the work in this regard has been completed.

As part of the operation, officials said that drains have been channelized at several points in different sectors of the city. They added that work on cleaning the channels is continuing in sectors G-6, G-7, G-8 and F-8 with garbage, fallen trees, debris and wild growth were removed from the drains.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2020.