Seasonal showers: Monsoon rains reveal WASA’s helplessness

Agency had claimed earlier they were prepared for the rains.

LAHORE:

Many roads and streets city were flooded by rainwater on Saturday causing traffic jams in various parts of the city.

The Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) had claimed earlier that preparations had been made to ensure efficient drainage.

Circular Road at Aik Moria Pull and Do Moria Pul, Cooper Road, Poonch Road, the Mall near High Court, Queens Road and Temple Road witnessed inundation and traffic congestion. WASA had identified 35 points in the city where water accumulated due to natural depression and promised quick removal of water.

A WASA official requesting anonymity said Queen’s Road and Temple Road were suffering due to construction of the Metro Bus Service. He said the drainage line of Abid Market that fell into the Cantt drain at LOS stop had been blocked.

He said a new drain was being constructed, but said that nothing much could be done meanwhile besides pumping the water. He also said that for places like Laskhmi and Circular Road, WASA could only keep the drainage lines clean.

Lakshmi and Circular Road, he said, were both areas were in low-lying. Water from Lakshmi Chowk, Nicholson Road, Gowalmandi and surrounding areas accumulated in this area due to its natural depression.

WASA PRO Imtiaz Ghauri said that 12 disposal stations and 82 lift stations (small disposal units) in the city were working to address the problems being faces by citizens. He said water needed time to drain.

“After so much rain, it takes about four to five hours for water to drain,” he said.

He said for a permanent solution to water accumulation issue, JAEKA JAPAN was conducting a study.

Weather

According to the MET Office, 59 mm rain was recorded at the airport and 48 mm at the Jail Road observatory was recorded in city. Weather turned pleasant following the rain as maximum temperature was recorded at 26.8C and minimum temperature was 24.5C. The weather is expected to remain cloudy for another 48 hours with chances of moderate rain.

LWMC cleans up aik moria pull

The Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) its Youth Club and Albayrak carried out an awareness session at Aik Moriya Pul amid heavy rain on Saturday.

The company staff, mobilisation wing and students from the Lahore College for Women University and Jamia Naeemia separated solid waste from rain water at a choke point at Aik Moriya Pul. Water pounding has been an issue for many years.

As many as 50 workers from Albayrak also took part in the activity. They had eight mini-dumpers to transfer solid waste to nearby bins and containers.

The students briefed the passersby on the importance of maintaining cleanliness especially on rainy days, as floating solid waste creates hurdles in the flow of water.

The volunteers using special nets removed solid waste. LWMC Communications Manager Memoona Arslan Bhatti supervised the activity. Provincial Minister for Excise and Taxation Mian Mujtaba Shuja also visited the point and appreciated the LWMC’s efforts.

The LWMC has deployed more than 3,800 workers to clean the city’s choke points and to lend a helping hand to the Wasa. More than 170 waste compacters, mini-dumpers and sweepers have been deployed to check the saniaation situation with a special focus on major choke points. Operations General Manager Khalid Majeed and Manager Asif Iqbal monitored the cleaning operations during and after the rain.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21^st, 2013.