The Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) is supplying contaminated drinking water to citizens, as around 50 percent house pipelines, which have gone rusty over the years, are yet to be replaced with new lines, while WASA has also fallen short of shifting the decaying 146 kilometres water line, a portion of the main water supply line, despite lapse of six years, Pakistan Today has learnt. Given the miserable situation, water-born diseases including gastro, cholera and dysentery are on a phenomenal increase. Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Medical Superintendent (MS) Dr Ijaz Ahmed said that approximately 30 to 35 percent patients registered by hospitals were hit by water-born diseases. “Amongst them, 80 percent children succumbed to gastro and diarrhea, mainly caused by use of untreated water,” he added. According to a senior WASA official, drainpipes running parallel to house pipelines are leaking and waste water is mixing with drinking water pipes and consumers are bound to suffer serious health hazards.
“The Lahore High Court (LHC) is hearing a suo motu case against supply of unsafe water supplied by tube wells of WASA and the Punjab government has informed the court that 150 filtration plants at the cost of Rs 42 million had been imported from China for installation in each union council.” The official told Pakistan Today that even if all 460 tube wells are equipped with water filtration plants to check alarming levels of arsenic and unless contaminated-ridden pipelines were replaced, supply of clean drinking water would remain a dream. Water was not only contaminated from the source, tubewells, he said but was also polluted up to tail ends, house water connections. Another WASA official disclosed that out of the total 0.55 million house pipelines, more than 0.25 million domestic pipes had been broken, worn-out and outlived. Simultaneously, a major portion of the main water supply line had decayed and demanded immediate replacement, he added.
WASA initiated the project of replacement of 0.25 million house pipeline lines and 706 kilometres main rusty water supply lines at the cost of Rs 136.170 million in 2005. But it could only replace 20,000 house pipelines and 560 kilometres main water supply line until now. According to information provided by WASA sources, the department found that out of the total 0.55 million house pipelines, 0.25 million had been rusty and worn out. Owing to dilapidated conditions of the water supply system, WASA noticed that contaminated water from surface water and sewage pipelines had been mixing into water supply lines and those water lines connected to houses due to which it was not fit for consumption, sources said.
They said that WASA initiated the project but could replace only 20,000 out of the 0.55 million house connections only in Shalimar Town. Other areas which still remain unattended include Allama Iqbal Town with 43,229 house pipelines, Data Nagar with 18,933, Farrakabad with 1,144, Garden Town with 18,133, Green Town with 15,153, Gulberg with 10,341, Ichchra with 30,716, Industrial Area with 27,059, Johar Town with 20,880, Islampura with 31,068, Misri Shah with 33,163, Mozan with 8,433, Mughalpura with 42,520, Dharampura with 6,891, Ravi Road with 94, Samanabad with 48,000, Shadbagh with 24,639, Shahdara with 34,771, Simla Hill with 21,760, Tajpura with 15,570 and Township with 19,839 house pipelines.
The Punjab government also curtailed allocations for the project by earmarking Rs 159 million for financial year 2010-11 against Rs 211.855 million, revised allocation in 2009-10. The Punjab CM’s Personal Staff Officer (PSO) Khawaja Imran Raza said that there are some budgetary constraints, which were hurdles in completion of the project of replacement of rusty pipelines and house connections. He said that the project was not out of focus and would be soon completed. WASA Sub-Engineer and Head of Water Supply Lines Project Ghulam Ghaus said that it would take two to three years to complete the project if allocation for the project remained undisturbed. He said that in the past, the amount earmarked for the project was used for different projects but the Punjab government had announced some amount for the project but it could also not be released so far.
According to the CM’s Secretariat, the Punjab government released Rs 37 million to shift 35 house pipes. WASA Managing Director (MD) Javed Iqbal said that WASA was determined to ensure safe drinking water to consumers and the project to ensure clean water was underway. He said that WASA would initiate a new survey of new water supply lines and water connections added in the water supply system during the last five years. WASA Finance Department officials said that a major reason for slow pace of work was private companies manufacturing AC pipes and HDP pipes, which could not maintain supply of pipes despite lofty claims. These companies gave lame excuses that as the project was initiated throughout Punjab simultaneously, their production capacity could not meet the rising demand. They said that WASA had asked the previous Punjab government to allow it to import HDP pipes, as local companies had failed to meet the desired supply of the pipes, which might cause a delay in completion of the project. But the government turned down the request, arguing that according to policy, no item could be imported.
