Filtration plants' closure adds to water woes

RAWALPINDI:

Water filtration plants installed across various areas to provide clean drinking water to residents remain non-functional, causing severe difficulties for citizens.

All filtration plants in the city's 46 union councils have been completely shut for one to two months. Many have become non-operational, while others have faulty filters. Around 70 per cent of the staff has also disappeared.

WASA has handed over the plants to the Clean Drinking Water Authority, which has so far failed to restore them. Citizens have expressed anger, saying both institutions are unwilling to accept responsibility.

Officials at WASA say the plants will become operational once trained staff from the authority is deployed, adding that WASA is no longer responsible.

The filtration plant in Union Council 28, Sadiqabad, has remained closed for the past eight months, becoming a clear example of mismanagement and negligence. Residents say the closure is due to a faulty tube well near Band Khanna Road, which has been non-functional for months and its bore has collapsed completely.

Despite the passage of eight months, neither repairs nor alternative arrangements have been made.