Three control rooms set up to cope with floods

WASA has also sped up cleanliness work of Nullah Leh to protect areas from flash flooding

RAWALPINDI:

To deal with the overflow of 10 nullahs, including Nullah Leh, during monsoon season, the district administration has set up three control rooms and made the modern system operational.

Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Rawalpindi has also accelerated the cleanliness work of Nullah Leh to protect the areas particularly low-lying from flash flooding.

According to WASA spokesperson, Umar Farooq, Nullah Leh, Katrian to Rialto Bridge Murree Road, have been cleared and all critical points of the nullah were especially focused under the dredging and de-silting project. He said that the agency had completed all the arrangements for monsoon season. He said the project would be completed at a cost of Rs30 million. To a question, he said that heavy machinery to remain in the field during monsoon season.

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Under rain emergency enforced for the period of June 15 to Sept 15, WASA staff would remain alert on the directives of Managing Director WASA Raja Shoukat Mehmood, he added. The project would be completed before the start of rains, he said, adding that the authorities concerned had finalised a plan which included cleaning of sewerage lines, annual cleaning of Nullah Leh and inspection of WASA machinery, and monitoring possibility of floods.

WASA had established the Field Offices as Flood Response Units which are made functional at five different places in Rawalpindi at Moti Mahal, Liaquat Bagh, Bagh Sardaran, Commercial Market Satellite Town and Khyaban-e-Sir Syed. Heavy machinery of WASA including six sucker machines, five jetting machines, five sewer cleaning rodding machines, 28 dewatering sets, and 24 water bouzers are in working condition and deployed at these Flood Response Units, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 1^st, 2021.