LAHORE: Thousands of residents of NA 119 continue to suffer from acute shortage of water that has been going on for many weeks now due to the improper water supply system in the area, Pakistan Today has observed.
Residents of this constituency, particularly those living in the localities adjacent to the Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) project are suffering more as Water and Sanitation Agency’s (WASA) water supply pipelines are either damaged or broken owing to the ongoing project.
This situation of water shortage was observed in Pathi Ground, McLeod Road, Fleming Road, and others areas where people have been facing difficulties in their everyday lives.
Imran Ali, a resident of Pathi Ground while talking to this scribe said that he along with many other residents was facing water shortage for more than one month now. He blamed the situation on the OLMT project saying that since its construction started, WASA had failed to manage the water supply to residents.
“We faced the same problem of water shortage last year in the summer and that was for more than six months but later WASA managed to restore the water supply,” he said and added that the residents of the area were puzzled over the sudden shortage in the winter season.
Ali told Pakistan Today that water shortage was a severe problem as they were unable to cook food and went without bathing for many days. “Most of the residents rely on a water pump of the nearby mosque and spend their hard-earned money to buy bottled water for drinking,” he said.
Women staying at home are suffering more as they don’t just have to cook food but also was clothes. A woman of the Lahore Hotel area while talking to Pakistan Today said that when the water runs out in the absence of a male member at home, it adds to the misery. Replying to a question she said that she had to go to her relatives’ house in other areas to wash clothes.
An elderly man blamed the OLMT project too, stating that they have been facing this problem because the project had broken all underground water pipelines. He said that the digging for the safe city project was also to be held responsible as one of the causes of the waterline rupture.
The Lahore Safe City project spokesman told Pakistan Today that the digging for the project was not as deep as to cause harm to the pipelines. He said that for the project’s purpose, safe city authority’s digging was not deeper than three feet while the pipelines were laid deeper than five feet.
WASA Xen, Amjad Ali, while talking to Pakistan Today said that there were several reasons behind the water shortage. For now, he said that WASA has installed a new tube-well in Rashi Bawan which would be helpful in resolving the water issue and it would be functional in a couple of days.
