The Punjab Water and Sanitation Authority (PWSA) asked the five water and sanitation agencies (WASA) of the province to finish their preparations for monsoon before May 31.
At a performance examination meeting held on Saturday, the director general of PwSA, Tayyab Farid, stressed the urgent need to clean the sewer pipes, repair heavy machines and set up monsoon camps before the start of the pre-maousson season on June 15, according to a report by the app.
“Recovery of income is essential to maintain water and sewer services,” said Farid, stressing that wassas must also improve their financial performance to maintain the proper functioning of essential services.
The meeting was followed by administrators and managers of the Five Wasa. Farid said that in addition to technical preparations, low zones must be identified and that training exercises must be carried out with emergency services to prepare any floods.
Meanwhile, the director general of Wasa Rawalpindi, Muhammad Saleem Ashraf, gave a briefing on the progress of his agency. He said that cleaning the sewer pipes was already underway and would be completed before the deadline.
He added that Wasa Rawalpindi has functional heavy machines, including cutting machines and jets and drying pumps ready to respond to emergencies. The agency also asked the government of Punjab funds to clean Leh Nullah and 15 other main drains in the city.
The low areas of Rawalpindi have already been identified using the district administration, and the staff trained with machines will be deployed at these points during the heavy rain. Saleem has also shared that Mock exercises will be held in collaboration with Rescue 1122 and other agencies in Leh Nullah and the Rawal dam.
Wasa Rawalpindi will also organize five monsoon camps across the city that will operate 24/7, and a control room at the head office will monitor the situation and deal with complaints.
On the income side, Wasa Rawalpindi recovered 1.7 billion rupees last year, exceeding its objective of 1.57 billion rupees. This year’s goal is 2.3 billion rupees, and Saleem said it expects to beat this figure as well.
