Citizens await civic fixes as Eid holidays end

Despite promises from authorities, water & sanitation complaints remain unaddressed

RAWALPINDI:

With the five-day holidays of Eidul Fitr coming to an end on Sunday, all government and private offices and business centres will open Monday [today], restoring the routine life in the twin cities.

Many who had left the cities to celebrate Eid with their loved ones in their ancestral towns and villages returned either on Sunday or Monday morning. However, amidst the return to routine, grievances loom over the cityscape. Complaints are expected from the citizens regarding basic civic facilities of water, streetlights and sanitation.

Not only the government and private institutions were closed, but the business centres were also completely shut down during the five holidays of Eid from Wednesday to Sunday.

On the other hand, no response has been given by the government agencies to the complaints regarding cleanliness and non-supply of drinking water to the citizens due to holidays. The complaints were registered but no action was taken to resolve them.

The complaints and problems faced by citizens regarding Rawalpindi and Chaklala Cantonment Board, Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) and RWMC could not be resolved in time. Although all these organisations made announcements to set up complaint cells and control rooms during Eid, an efficient response could not be found from such centres regarding the complaints of the citizens.

The problem of non-supply of drinking water to the citizens in Rawalpindi City and Cantt also continued during the Eid holidays while the complaints of lack of cleanliness also persisted and darkness prevailed on the roads due to damaged streetlights in many residential areas.

The complaints of the citizens regarding fixing the streetlights could not be resolved. Assurances were given by the staff on duty of institutions to redress the complaints but later on, they were told that their grievances would be resolved after the holidays.

On the other hand, when government institutions open today, there will be an unusual number of people turning to them for their problems.

Talking to The Express Tribune, citizens Muhammad Ishtiaq, Shabbir Ahmed and Salahuddin said: “It is a practice to postpone all work until after Eid in the last 10 days of Ramazan.”

They added that since the holidays had passed therefore the number of people approaching these institutions from Monday onwards to get their issues resolved was also expected to increase.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 15^th, 2024.