80% dredging of Nullah Leh completed

Rawalpindi : To avoid expected flooding situation, Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) is continuously removing tonnes of garbage and construction debris from Nullah Leh.

The excavators have been cleaning the nullah from I.J. Principal Road and Ganjmandi Bridge. The machines are cleaning Nullah Leh from Gawalmandi to Pirwdahi. The third machine will clean the area from Murree Road to Ratta Amral.

Nullah Leh, is a rain water fed natural stream flowing through the city of Rawalpindi. Every monsoon season the stream floods after being fed by its catchment basin in the Margalla Hills bordering Islamabad, Pakistan.

The Nullah Leh Basin has a catchment area of 234.8 km2, extending to the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The Nullah Leh combined with its tributaries such as Saidpur Kasi, Kanitwali, Badarwali Kasi and Tenawali Kasi, originating from Margala Hills enters in Rawalpindi city from CDA area at IJ principal Road and Khayaban-e- Sir Syed. The additional tributaries including Niki Lai, Dhoke Hassu Nullah, Dhoke Ellahi Bakhash and PAF Colony Nullah join the main stream of Lai Nullah within Rawalpindi City.

Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Managing Director Raja Shaukat told ‘The News’ that they have completed more than 80 per cent dredging in Nullah Leh. “Problematic areas have been identified and work has been launched in two phases,” he added. He said that they started cleaning Nullah Leh from all sides to avoid any kind of flood during monsoon. He said that they needed Rs140 million to clean Nullah Leh to avoid hell like situation in monsoon.

Though the Met Office has predicted normal rains during the coming monsoon, there are chances of heavy rains in pre-monsoon period.

In the first phase, Wasa has cleared garbage under bridges and in the second construction waste dumped along the nullah has been removed from IJ Principal Road to Moti Mahal Bridge on Murree Road.

Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) Chief Officer Syed Shafqat Raza strongly appreciated dredging of Nullah Leh saying that they have also established flood relief camps to avoid any kind of flood situation in the city.

Nullah Leh extreme flood years have been 1944, 1957, 1966, 1970, 1972, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2012 and 2013.