The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has showed willingness to fund the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) programme for using rainwater for ablution in mosques and the wastewater coming from mosques for irrigation in large public parks.
UNDP Research Officer Waqas Khan said on Wednesday that the UN body will extend technical and financial assistance for using and recycling rainwater.
He was speaking at a meeting held at RDA head office to discuss preserving rainwater for use in mosques and then recycling it for Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) for watering plants at public parks.
“Rawalpindi becomes second Rainwater Harvesting City in the Punjab,” RDA Chairman Tariq Mehmood Murtaza said.
RDA along with the representative UNDP and imams of three major mosques mulled recycling rain and ablution water for reuse. Qari Abdul Sattar of Ghousia Masjid, Bangash Colony; Mufti Jalaluddin and Qari Syed Neamat from Sirajia Masjid, Asghar Mall Scheme; and Muhammad Fayyaz Khan from Bilal Masjid, Khayabane Sir Syed participated in the meeting.
The meeting was held at the RDA Conference Room under the chairmanship of RDA Chairman Murtaza. He said that after the implementation of RDA's initiative with regards to rainwater harvesting, Rawalpindi will be the second city in the Punjab to introduce eco-friendly measures.
Keeping in view the depleting fresh water resources, it has become most important to collect and use rainwater, the RDA chief told the meeting.
RDA has already started rainwater harvesting with the help of Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA). The agency has extended a gift of Rs50 million for the project.
Talking about mosques, he said that there was more consumption and need for water in mosques and in order to meet their needs it could be further enhanced and there would be a bigger model of rainwater harvesting. The water coming out of the mosques was free of chemicals and ideal for irrigation, the meeting noted.
In this regard, UNDP Research Officer Waqas Khan said they will help save rainwater for the three mosques and further recycle it for irrigation. The project will be started immediately, he said.
The rainwater collected will be used for ablution and usage in wash rooms. The ablution water will be collected and used for watering plants and grass in the parks. The imams of the three mosques and Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) agreed for the project.
The RDA chairman thanked the imams of the three mosques for their cooperation. He said that water is a blessing of Allah and it is a great work of RDA to conserve it. He thanked all the members.
RDA Finance Deputy Director Junaid Taj Bhatti, Engineering Deputy Director Aziz Ullah, were also present in the meeting.
Earlier, RDA chairman had told The Express Tribune that once the rainwater harvesting project takes off, maps of new buildings will be passed only if they have drains and tanks to channel and store rainwater. However, it will take some years to develop and implement the project.
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.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 3rd, 2020.
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