Caretaker Minister For Housing And Urban Development, Punjab, Syed Azfar Ali Nasir Reviews WASA Preparations For Monsoon

Caretaker Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Punjab, Syed Azfar Ali Nasir here on Thursday reviewed the preparations of Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Rawalpindi for Monsoon and also inspected the dredging and de-silting work of Nullah Lai at Gwalmandi Bridge

RAWALPINDI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Jun, 2023 ) :Caretaker Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Punjab, Syed Azfar Ali Nasir here on Thursday reviewed the preparations of Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Rawalpindi for Monsoon and also inspected the dredging and de-silting work of Nullah Lai at Gwalmandi Bridge.

Commissioner Rawalpindi Division, Liaquat Ali Chatha was also present on the occasion.

Giving a briefing, Managing Director (MD) WASA Muhammad Tanveer informed the Minister that the agency had completed all the preparations before Monsoon.

The Punjab government had released funds for cleaning of Nullah Lai and 11 other nullahs of the city, he said adding, the dredging and de-silting work of Nullah Lai from Katarian Bridge to Murree Road would be completed by June 30.

The tender process to award contracts to clean other Nullahs of the town was under process and dredging and de-silting work of big nullahs would be started soon which would be completed before the start of Monsoon rains, he said.

The cleaning work of sewerage lines using winch machines was also being completed, MD said adding, during Monsoon rains emergency is enforced under which leaves of all the field staff are canceled and the staff remains present in the field round the clock.

Five flood response units would be set up in the city at Liaquat Bagh, Moti Mahal, Commercial Market, Bagh Sardaran and Khayaban-e-Sir Syed where heavy machinery and field staff would remain present to give quick response in case of flooding in any area.

WAS has heavy machinery including jetting and sucker machines, de-watering sets, winch machines and water bowsers.

The Minister informed that he is visiting all the divisions of Punjab on the special directives of Chief Minister Punjab Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi and reviewing the performance of all the departments.

He directed the authorities concerned to accelerate the dredging and de-silting work of all nullahs and solid waste and garbage being removed from the nullahs should be dumped out of the city. Negligence on the part of officials concerned would not be tolerated, the minister warned.

Talking about encroachments, he said that an anti-encroachment drive like Lahore had been launched in Rawalpindi and the district administration was striving to clear all areas and no relaxation in this regard should be given to anyone.

The Minister appreciated the efforts of the administration including Commissioner Rawalpindi Division, Liaquat Ali Chatha, Deputy Commissioner, Waqar Hasan Cheema and other officers saying, the administration was making all-out efforts to provide relief to the citizens.