The Rawalpindi Metropolitan Corporation (RMC) and the district administration have failed to remove encroachments along major nullah and storm drains in Rawalpindi.
Various low-lying areas of Rawalpindi often submerge during heavy rains owing to these choking drains including the Nullah Leh.
The encroachments on the city's eight major sewers continue to pose the risk of flooding in low-lying areas during the monsoon season.
Rawalpindi Commissioner Noorul Amin Mengal has directed the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) to expedite work on cleaning the drains in view of the expected monsoon rains.
The has declared a rain emergency in Rawalpindi because of the expected monsoon rains.
WASA Managing Director Muhammad Tanveer said that WASA has also sped up the work of cleaning the drains and all the drains will be cleaned before Eidul Azha. Local representatives and all stakeholders were being consulted for cleaning the sewers because the protection of life and property of the people is the top priority in the monsoon, he said adding that the WASA has declared a rain emergency. According to the official, the WASA staff and machinery will remain on high alert during the Eidul Azha holidays.
He said that the dredging of Nullah Leh would be completed at the earliest as the Punjab government has released Rs30 million. He said that obstacles in the flow of water under and around bridges were being removed. The silt and solid waste dumps in Nullah Leh were also being lifted utilising heavy machinery, he added.
The official said that the cleaning work of Nulla Leh would be completed before the start of the monsoon.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 4th, 2022.
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