Dozens of water plants in disrepair
At least 45 of the 99 filtration plants installed in the city to supply clean drinking water to the citizens are non-functional because of shortage of funds and lack of adequate coordination and assignment of responsibilities between the government departments concerned.
According to officials concerned, the filters or a number of plants have also not been replaced in time, putting at risk the health of the people using water from the plants installed across the provincial capital.
In view of the situation, the authorities concerned have demanded Rs135 million from the provincial local government department to repair the filtration plants.
A large number of residents of the city depend on the filtration plants because the water supply lines in many areas have passed their viable lifetime without being replaced by the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) due to lack of funds.
In view of complaints of contaminated water supply, the previous governments had installed the filtration plants in urban areas with the help of the municipal corporation, WASA, public health engineering and local government departments.
Sources in the Lahore Metropolitan Corporation told The Express Tribune that 99 water filtration plants had been installed in Lahore, out of which 54 were currently functioning and had now been handed over to the Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority.
However, the 45 other plants are in disrepair.
The largest number of filtration plants are installed in the in Data Ganj Baksh zone, but only four of the 39 units are currently functioning and 35 are damaged.
It is estimated that Rs105 million would be required to repair them.
Of the seven filtration plants set up in Gulberg zone, four are functional and three are defective.
Four filtration plants have been installed in Allama Iqbal zone, out of which two are functional and as many are out of order.
On the other hand, all the 10 filtration plants installed in Ravi zone, 13 in Shalimar, 10 in Aziz Bhatti zone and four in Wagah are properly functioning.
Of the 12 plants installed in Samanabad zone, seven are functional and five non-functional.
However, the filters of a number of plants from where citizens are taking away water have not been replaced for a long time, causing concerns about the health of the users.
Local residents Muhammad Amir and Muhammad Farid said complaints of foul smell from the water collected from the filtration plants at Karim Park and Band Road were common.
They said WASA had not solved the problems despite complaints.
They said there was also confusion about the authority responsible for operating the plants.
The sources said the Aab-e-Pak Authority had taken the stance in a meeting presided over by the provincial local government secretary that the filtration plants should be repaired so that they could be operated after their handing over.
When contacted, WASA Managing Director Ghafran Ahmed said the organisation had been facing financial difficulties since long in maintain the filtration plants on a regular basis.
Local Government Secretary Dr Muhammad Irshad told The Express Tribune that it was the responsibility of the institutions concerned to provide clean water to the citizens and they tried to provide the best facilities by utilising the existing resources.
He said 54 filtration plants had been handed over to the Aab-e- Pak Authority, while WASA and the metropolitan corporation had been given the responsibility to make functional the remaining plants that required repair.
He said efforts were being made to ensure the repair of the filtration plants.
The provincial secretary said instructions had also been issued to the departments concerned to replace the filters of the plants and write the date of the replacement at each facility o that the officers and citizens would know the due date of the next replacement.
“This measure will help ensure the supply of clean water to the citizens,” he added.
He said it had been decided that all the filtration plants would be handed over to the Aab-e-Pak Authority so that only one organisation would be responsible for the service.