ISLAMABAD: Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan said before the Supreme Court (SC) that there was a need to initiate a large-scale campaign to dredge Rawal Dam and Simly Dam because their capacity to hold water had been reduced by silt deposits.
A three-judge bench of the SC headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Mian Saqib Nisar was hearing the suo motu case related to water scarcity in Islamabad.
Ahsan said in court, “Advertisements should be placed immediately in newspapers inviting trolley trucks to line up and help participate in desilting until the monsoon rains arrive.”
The system of water tankers also needed to be regularised, Ahsan further stressed.
The SC directed Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan to invite Ahsan, Municipal Corporation Islamabad (MCI) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Environment Protection Agency (EPA) officials and other authorities concerned and chair a meeting to find a solution to the issue.
The court also said that the findings including ways to get rid of the tanker mafia must be submitted to the SC by Wednesday.
EPA Director General Farzana Altaf Shah revealed to the court that she had been touring nullahs in the capital and Rawalpindi accompanied by a World Health Organisation (WHO) team and found that all nullahs were filled with shopping bags and garbage.
She showed pictures in court related to the alleged dumping of waste into River Soan by a private housing society.
