Residents of Aziz Colony, PP-137, and adjacent areas have been facing acute water shortages for the past three years, Pakistan Today has learnt.
Two years ago, the residents had filed a request with the City District Government Lahore (CDGL) to direct Water and Sanitation Authority (WASA) to install a generator with the tube well that supplied water to the area. CDGL allocated Rs 13.5 million for the provision of water in February 2011. CDGL also allocated money for improving sewage systems of adjoining areas of PP-137.
However, no progress has been made on the demands till date and recently a tube well installed at Latif chowk which was supplying water to Aziz colony on adhoc bases started to pump contaminated water to the colony.
The residents have now been forced to use contaminated water.
Dilshad Muhammad Raza, a local, said, “I submitted many applications at the complaint cell of chief minister and to LDA and WASA director generals but no action was taken.”
Rehmat Ali, another resident said, “WASA officials told us that they were installing narrower pipes to ensure increased water supply but the experiment has failed and only air comes out of the taps. “
Recently, WASA uninstalled a generator from a tube well supplying water to Islamia Colony. Munir Ahmad, a resident of the area told Pakistan Today that “When we raised the issue before WASA, we got no response. As a result we requested MPA Rana Muhammad Iqbal to take action against the corrupt officials but all he did was move files from one office to another.
We are not only facing water shortage but our children are also getting sick because of contaminated water”.
Per details, 64 percent of all water samples collected by the Punjab Environment Protection Department (EPD) from at least 20 districts of Punjab were declared to be contaminated. Following the results, EPD recommended the Health Department to conduct a thorough study in these districts to estimate the number of people who had been affected by water borne diseases. EPD suggested that respective water supply agencies should adopt measures to ensure supply clean drinking water to the citizens and a ban should be imposed on the industries, which spill huge quantities of pollutants in the streams.
WASA officials refused to comment on the issue.
