Water recycling plan at car wash stations stalls

The Environmental Protection and Climate Change Department (EP&CCD) has completely failed to implement the "Used Water Treatment System" at car wash service stations in the Rawalpindi Division to recycle water for reuse.

The Punjab government had issued red notices for installing this system in all 1,370 car service stations in the division, both small and large, with a deadline set for February 28. However, none of the car wash stations in the Rawalpindi Division installed the water treatment system by the given deadline.

The department had warned of a crackdown on car service stations starting March 1 if the system was not installed. Despite this, no progress has been made at the car wash stations.

Owners of car wash stations claim the system is very expensive and they cannot afford it. They argue that they earn only Rs10,000 to Rs15,000 a day, and a large portion of their income is spent on employee wages and electricity bills.

Hakeem Khan, the vice president of the Car Wash Service Station Union, is of the view that if the government and administration want to make this system mandatory, they should provide easy loans or install the system for them, allowing payments to be made in installments.