Water conservation termed collective responsibility of govt, people

PESHAWAR: Speakers at a conference termed water conservation, sanitation and hygiene as the collective responsibility of all stakeholders including elected representatives, ulema and local government.

The awareness conference titled, “Water, Sanitation and Hygiene,” was organised by Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (WSSP) in collaboration with the Unicef. Chief Executive Officer Khanzeb, General Manager Operation WSSP Ali Khan, religious scholars, elected members from 43 union councils and environment experts attended the conference. The participants were sensitised about WSSP services in water provision and the importance of masses cooperation in keeping the city clean. They were informed that the WSSP provide water to consumers in 43 union councils and collect 800 tons of solid waste on daily basis.

Besides, Safa Pekhawar mobile application was installed on mobile phones of every participant and a demonstration was given how to register a complaint on it about water and sanitation. Moreover, participants were informed that they could lodge complaints on 1334 that would be resolved within 24 hours. Zonal Manager, Zone B, Engr Tariq Aziz, gave a presentation on the cleanliness operation in Shaheen Muslim Town, one of the congested and most populated localities of the Peshawar. He said a Unicef-funded cleanliness project was launched in Shaheen Muslim Town-I and II that would end in March. “During the project, over 100 sanitation staff cleaned the area, opened and desilted all drains,” he said, adding that WSSP would transport 100 tons of waste from SMT-I and II to its landfill site in Shamshatoo.

To maintain cleanliness, he said, “WSSP will clean your street in the morning, but keeping it clean till the next morning is the responsibility of people,” he said. Ulema in their speeches shed light on the importance of water conservation, sanitation and hygiene in light of Islam. Mufti Shafiq and Maulana Ismail said that Islam places great stress on physical and spiritual cleanliness as well as cleanliness of your surroundings too. They urged their fellow ulema to inculcate a habit in their students to dispose of waste properly, conserve water and ensure their physical hygiene.