22-kilometer dirty drain along Peshawar Ring Road irks passers-by

PESHAWAR: The people living along the Ring Road have been facing severe hardships due to the stagnant water and waste material in the 22-kilometre long drain on both sides of the road which speaks volumes about the inefficiency of the Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (WSSP) and Peshawar Development Authority (PDA).

The two departments instead of resolving the issue and ending the miseries of the people have kept shifting responsibilities to each other.

The drain along the Ring Road is filled with standing water and other waste material that could cause diseases besides creating other problems for the residents and passersby.

Talking to The News, WSSP General Manager Operations Ali Khan said the drain has not yet been handed over to the company and the PDA was responsible for its clean it. He said he had correspondence with PDA whose officials had agreed to clean the drain it before handing it over to the WSSP.

“Construction material has been dumped in the drain. They have agreed to clean the drain during the five or six correspondence,” he said, adding they have yet to clean it. He claimed that the drain has hundreds of tonnes of construction material which is not possible to be cleared with the equipment of the WSSP. “We would only take over when the drain is completely cleared by the PDA contractors.”

When asked whether the PDA has given any timeline to the WSSP for cleaning the drain for handing it to WSSP, he said they have given us the timeline but you can confirm it from the PDA.

When this scribe pressed for revealing the timeline, he said that can be asked from them as we have not yet been given any timeline. PDA Director General Israrul Haq told The News he had been heading the authority for the last nine months but had not yet received any request from the WSSP in connection with the Ring Road drain.

The official said no waste material had been left behind by the PDA contractor and added that peopling living near the road were throwing waste in it. He said that in some areas people have filled the drain with sand for making access for vehicles to the road.

Israrul Haq said he would have handed over the drain to the WSSP within a day if they had contacted his office for the purpose. The PDA chief said that hundreds of the sanitation staff of the WSSP should have started the cleaning of the drain after its completion.

He said that PDA has also started construction of greenbelt on the drain to prevent people throwing waste in it. About the WSSP’s claim that their equipment was not capable of removing the construction waste material from the drain, he said that WSSP had more advanced equipment compared to any other organisation. The official said every department or organisation has a clear mandate and responsibilities, adding that his organisation would never compromise its assigned responsibility.