Expansion of WASA jurisdiction suggested
WASA workers pump out rainwater accumulated at Committee Chowk in Rawalpindi. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE
In the light of huge accumulation of sewage and heaps of garbage and silt in road-side drains during heavy rains in the monsoon season, the district administration has advised the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) to extend its territorial ju-risdiction to the bypasses of all the main thoroughfares of Faisalabad.
In a meeting with the WASA management, Deputy Commissioner Abdullah Nayyir Sheikh stressed urgent steps to solve the problems related to the Norwala Road Chokera disposal station so that citizens could get relief.
He urged highway department officials to remove the slabs of roadside drains and also set timelines for WASA to carry out desilting work in low-lying areas.
The DC issued directions to WASA to prepare a practicable plan to expand its ser-vices to the residents of different localities along the of Norwala, Jhang, Samun-dri, Jaranwala, Sheikhupura and Sargodha road bypasses and adjoining link roads.
He said that though it would take time to seek formal approval for expanding WASA’s jurisdiction, temporary extension of services would be carried out to the areas facing chronic problems.
Former WASA managing director Choudhry Rasheed Ahmad said the suggestion was good but the extension of services to the bypasses would cost billions of ru-pees.