New Anarkali: ‘The water from our taps stinks’

LAHORE:

“Our area has old sewerage pipelines, many of which leak in various places,” Shahid Mehmood, a voter who lives near Urdu Bazaar, says. “Sewage seeps into the water supply pipes stinking up our drinking water.”

He says the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has lost much support over the past few years on account of no development work in the area for several years.

“Residents of several areas including Chatterjee Road and Cattle Park have now switched their loyalty to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf,” he says. However, he says, it is only to be expected because the PML-N has given tickets for the election to people who are not residents of the area.

The PML-N candidate for chairman MA Rahim, popularly known as Nanha Bhai, denies these allegations. He says he has been elected councillor from the area in 2001 and 2005 and “people in the area know me well…If I had not been working here for so long, why would they have voted for me both times”.

The PML-N candidate for vice chairman Javed Iqbal is contesting an election for the first time.



The PTI candidate for chairman Mian M Tanveer said the union council does not have a proper marriage hall. “There is one public marriage hall but it has not been maintained.”

Sewage is another problem in the area, he says. “The drains need to be cleaned and garbage disposed of properly,” he says.

Tanveer says he knows the area and its problems well. He was previously elected deputy nazim in 2001. The area was then a part of UC 71.

The PTI candidate for vice chairman Imran Ashfaq will be contesting.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 27^th, 2015.