Potable water: City to get three more drinking water sources

FAISALABAD:

The Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) has decided to tap three more sources to augment water supply to Faisalabad, Managing Director Syed Zahid Aziz announced on Wednesday.

Aziz said the agency will add 85 million gallons to 115 million gallons of water daily.

Talking to reporters, the managing director said that water supply from tubewells under the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Project was 56 million gallons a day, while eight million gallons water was being supplied from the tube-wells along Rakh Canal and one million from Millat Town water works.

“Wasa is currently working on three water supply projects which add 15 million gallons of water a day from a project funded by the French government, five million gallons a day from the tubewells along Rakh Branch and 10 million gallons per day from Jhal Khanuana Project,” he said.

He said Wasa had also started a tanker service for supplying water to Allama Iqbal Colony, Warispura, Feroze Shah, Karim Town, Rahim Town, Shahbaz Garden, Jail Road and Sindhu Town. The tankers visit these areas between 8am and 4pm.

“JICA will also provide equipment worth Rs1 billion to Wasa. This includes disposal station pumps, sucker machines and excavators for de-silting and cleaning sewer lines,” Aziz said. The Wasa chief claimed that despite excessive loadshedding, drinking water was provided for seven hours every day (For two hours in the morning, two hours in the noon and three hours in the evening).

He said that 120 Revenue Department workers, who had been distributing and collecting outstanding bills, had been relieved for inefficiency. Out of these 39 employees were sewer men, 28 tube well operators and 30 baildars, watchmen and fitter coolies.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 12^th, 2012.