Unsafe water running in city’s supply lines but WASA doesn’t care

• Civic agency fails in installing water treatment plants in most city areas, only 215 RO plants set up by year-end

Water filtration plants are direly needed in half of the city as rusty or broken pipelines supplying unhygienic water to citizens has put their health at risk, due to which they are forced to buy bottled water, Pakistan Today has learnt.

As per reports, the civic body, Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), responsible for provision of clean drinking water to citizens, has not conducted any survey of rusty and broken pipelines. The tap water people get in most of the areas of the city is contaminated either by feces or rust, and may result in outbreak of waterborne diseases and other serious bodily complications.

The federal government had earlier issued a sum of Rs 830 million for installation of water filtration plants in Lahore, Okara, Kasur and Bahawalpur districts, while the Punjab government had directed the authorities concerned to complete installation of 314 water filtration plants in four districts, including 215 in Lahore, by July 30. However, officials in WASA said the Agency did not have water filtration plants, nor did it have funds for their purchase. The Agency only installed 100 water filtration plants in the most-affected areas in the ongoing year, added the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

They said public representatives having strong political connections were successful in acquiring water filtration plants for their areas while those having no approach were given an olive branch.

It may be mentioned that WASA had to set up 215 water filtration in Lahore this year but it far behind its target, as it has not set up half the number of plants by the end of this year.

On the other hand, a spokesperson for WASA said the Agency had installed 100 water filtration plants and was now undertaking installation work on another 100 in other affected areas.

Imtiaz further said that WASA was working on the applications received for installation of plants, but it itself had not made any complete survey of the city as to where filtration plants were required direly.