Hazara gets first solid waste treatment plant

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approves Hazara Electric Supply Company

ISLAMABAD:

Hazara division’s first and sole solid waste management plant became functional on Wednesday in Abbottabad.

According to sources, the plant has been installed at Salhad dumping point to treat the waste of 1,200 households of model neighborhood Ward No 11 Kunj.

Sources said the waste management project was completed at a cost of Rs15 million.

Besides the installation of the plant, two water tanks were repaired and new pipelines were laid in the first model council of the district, they said.

A 25 KV transformer, dustbins, two trolley rickshaws, solar lights, two 30-horsepower water motors and other facilities have been provided for Ward No 11 and 12 besides construction of a protective wall, they added.

The inauguration ceremony saw the presence of Oxfam Pakistan project manager Farah Manawar, Rashida Dua of Umar Asghar Foundation, board of directors chairman Major (retd) Zulfikar Ahmed, Abbottabad Water and Sanitation Services (WASSCA) Chief Executive Officer Engineer Rehan Yusuf, Ward 11 village chairman Aamir Fazal and Ward 12 village chairman Sardar Shabbir.

Farah Manawar of Oxfam Pakistan said steps will be taken to improve the plant further in the future. She said the public should cooperate with WASSCA to run the waste management system successfully. She claimed the system to be among the best in the country.

Oxfam had the best experience of working with WASSCA for the model village, she added.

Major (retd) Zulfiqar Ahmed emphasised that cleanliness is the part of our faith. He urged the public to fulfill their responsibilities in making the project a success.

WASSCA CEO Engineer Rehan Yusuf said the civic body will provide the best facilities possible to the residents and it was trying to shift the water distribution system to solar energy to reduce the cost.

He said baskets have been provided to every household to collect kitchen and other waste separately. Handcarts and two rickshaws are being used by the staff to transport the waste to the solid waste management plant, he added.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved Hazara Electric Supply Company (HESCO). According to sources, the work on the establishment of the company would start within a few days. Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbassi said he has fulfilled another electoral promise.

The minister while talking to a delegation of Hazara region WAPDA Hydro Union led by Sardar Liaqat said the ministry of water and power has completed its initial procedure and within the coming few days, the formation of the company would be started.

He further said in 2017, he had raised the demand for a separate electricity supply company for the Hazar division and got the approval of the company from the then PM Shahid Khaqan Abbassi. Unfortunately, after the change of PML-N government, nobody implemented that directive, he added. Murtaza Abbasi said the establishment of a separate electric company for the Hazara region would not only end the unscheduled load shedding but also provide a large number of job opportunities.

Additional input from APP

 

Published in The Express Tribune, November 24^th, 2022.