‘Black water’ blues in Badiana
Thousands deprived of potable drinking water for over three weeks.
PASRUR:
Thousands of people in Badiana and other tehsils in Pasrur have been deprived of potable drinking water for over three weeks.
All water supply schemes to correct the constant problems with water supply have been abandoned midway and locals protested against the district administration on Sunday. Concerned officials of the Sialkot district government and Pasrur tehsil municipal administration (TMA) have failed to restore clean drinking water for locals and at present the water being supplied to homes in Pasrur is reportedly black in colour.
“The water running through our taps is black or brown. No matter It does not matter for how long we boil it, it is not fit for drinking. The government needs to do something,” said Badiana resident Amna Munawwar.
Residents told reporters that the Badiana union council established the first water supply scheme in the tehsil in 1983 and the second was set up in 1993. “Both of these schemes were out of order soon after their installation and the structural problems were never addressed.
The TMA has only fiddled with the water supply and sometime we have clean water for three months before the water supply becomes tainted all over again,” said engineer Malik Bahadur.
In 2001, local UC officials also planned to lay down another water supply line in Badiana to provide potable drinking water to the people of Mughal Pura, Kothey Minhas, Kothey Gujran, Muhallah Ranjha Chowk, Inayat Pura, Muhallah Qureshian and other areas near Badiana town. The contractors of the scheme collected heavy chunks of money from locals to lay a new water supply line. “Even though they asked us for the money and we delivered, they still haven’t ensured that we have clean water,” said worker Abdullah. Locals said that the contractors vanished after collecting money to set up the new system. The water scheme has been lying abandoned ever since.
Pasrur’s only water filtration plant has been out of order due to the alleged slackness of concerned officials of the Sialkot district government and TMA. The filters of the plant have yet to be changed and the district government has not allocated a single penny towards its maintenance or repair.
When contacted, the concerned officials of the Public Health Engineering Department officials said that the water supply schemes had been handed over to former union council and that they were no longer responsible for its maintenance or repair. Meanwhile, Pasrur TMA officials said that the TMA was not responsible for the rectification and maintenance of such schemes and that it already had too much on its plate.
They said that the local community should come forward and work at restoring the water supply themselves. “They need to work on a self help basis. Everything cannot be dealt with by the TMA,” said TMA official Sadiq.
Expressing grave concern over this critical situation, locals have urged the Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif and Gujranwala division commissioner Saeed Wahala to step in and order that clean water supply be restored in the area.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 2nd, 2010.
Thousands of people in Badiana and other tehsils in Pasrur have been deprived of potable drinking water for over three weeks.
All water supply schemes to correct the constant problems with water supply have been abandoned midway and locals protested against the district administration on Sunday. Concerned officials of the Sialkot district government and Pasrur tehsil municipal administration (TMA) have failed to restore clean drinking water for locals and at present the water being supplied to homes in Pasrur is reportedly black in colour.
“The water running through our taps is black or brown. No matter It does not matter for how long we boil it, it is not fit for drinking. The government needs to do something,” said Badiana resident Amna Munawwar.
Residents told reporters that the Badiana union council established the first water supply scheme in the tehsil in 1983 and the second was set up in 1993. “Both of these schemes were out of order soon after their installation and the structural problems were never addressed.
The TMA has only fiddled with the water supply and sometime we have clean water for three months before the water supply becomes tainted all over again,” said engineer Malik Bahadur.
In 2001, local UC officials also planned to lay down another water supply line in Badiana to provide potable drinking water to the people of Mughal Pura, Kothey Minhas, Kothey Gujran, Muhallah Ranjha Chowk, Inayat Pura, Muhallah Qureshian and other areas near Badiana town. The contractors of the scheme collected heavy chunks of money from locals to lay a new water supply line. “Even though they asked us for the money and we delivered, they still haven’t ensured that we have clean water,” said worker Abdullah. Locals said that the contractors vanished after collecting money to set up the new system. The water scheme has been lying abandoned ever since.
Pasrur’s only water filtration plant has been out of order due to the alleged slackness of concerned officials of the Sialkot district government and TMA. The filters of the plant have yet to be changed and the district government has not allocated a single penny towards its maintenance or repair.
When contacted, the concerned officials of the Public Health Engineering Department officials said that the water supply schemes had been handed over to former union council and that they were no longer responsible for its maintenance or repair. Meanwhile, Pasrur TMA officials said that the TMA was not responsible for the rectification and maintenance of such schemes and that it already had too much on its plate.
They said that the local community should come forward and work at restoring the water supply themselves. “They need to work on a self help basis. Everything cannot be dealt with by the TMA,” said TMA official Sadiq.
Expressing grave concern over this critical situation, locals have urged the Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif and Gujranwala division commissioner Saeed Wahala to step in and order that clean water supply be restored in the area.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 2nd, 2010.