Rawalpindi : Finally, Punjab government has released Rs200 million out of the total cost of Rs400 million to provide 24-hours pure drinking water in the areas of Adiala Road.
Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) has completed installations of four tube wells out of a total of nine tube wells here at Gorakhpur to supply water to more than 30,000 residents of different areas of Adiala Road.
It is worth mentioning here that Adiala Road has been the most neglected area where tanker mafia rules the roost and has been selling water at skyrocketing prices for the past many years.
Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) Chairman Tariq Mehmood Murtaza told ‘The News’ that total cost of Adiala Road water supply scheme was Rs400 million. “Punjab government has released funds of Rs200 million and residents of Kehkashan Colony, Munawar Colony, Dhama Syedan, Sanjoli Street, Bank Colony, Hill View Lane, Sadiq Town, Jarahi and Janjua Town would get pure drinking water round the clock,” he claimed. He said that they have started work after its tender and this project will be completed within four to six months. Punjab government will release Rs200 million within days for early completion of this scheme, he claimed.
Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Deputy Director Malik Javed said that they have installed total nine tube wells here at Gorakhpur. “Four tube wells are functioning while installation work of other tube wells is still going on. WASA is establishing two underground tanks and two OHR tanks here at Shahpur. Underground tanks will have the capacity of 500,000 gallons drinking water per day while the height of OHR tanks will be around 70-feet,” he said.
He also said that they will provide 500,000 gallons of water to 30,000 residents every day. “We will provide them pure drinking water round the clock but with installations of ‘Water Meters.’ We are going to install ‘Water Meters’ in every house only to avoid wastage of water,” he said. “WASA will install ‘Water Meters’ on its own to monitor the water consumption and control its wastage,” he claimed. He also said that consumers will pay nominal bills of Rs1,000 to Rs1,500 per house in a month. He said that we have purchased 36,000-feet (9-kilometer) long pipe to lay it in all areas.
It merits mentioning here that thickly populated Adiala Road has been deprived of supply water schemes and the underground water is not available in the locality. On the other hand the tanker mafia has been looting public with both hands and selling a tanker at Rs1600-Rs2000.