October 22, 2001	Monday	Shaba'an 4, 1422

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SARGODHA, Oct 21: People of Sargodha have been longing for clean drinking water and better sanitation system for quite sometime now. In spite of the fact that loads of money have been allocated and spent, situation remains as grave as ever.

The reason for this, cited by people from different walks of life, is that either the projects were not well planned or funds provided to rid the people of these problems were misused by the authorities concerned.

The water being used by almost 45 per cent of the population of the city is unhygienic and not fit for human consumption, an analyst claims.

The authorities however blame the pace at which population has been increasing for this ongoing agony. They say that unapproved private colonies and dwellings have only added to their difficulties.

According to them, the only way to remove this health hazard is to place sufficient funds at the disposal of honest people.

What adds salt to the wounds is that people are forced to pay water bills even after disconnection of water supply. Moreover, in some areas of the city taps remain dry for low water pressure which results from the use of pumps by influentials.

There are also reports that a number of people who obtained illegal 24-hour water connections using their political links are still enjoying the facility without paying even a single penny.

The concerned officials have different opinion on the matter. Some are of the view that if any campaign is launched against the violators, it will cause unrest among the traders and public in general while others suggest that employees of the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) are very much involved in these malpractices and they should be dealt with an iron hand. Names of some of these employees are circling in the city.

The sewerage system is also in deplorable state. Inhabitants of the city and its suburbs keep complaining about choked, open and overflowing gutters but to no avail.

Suburb farmers use the water illegally for their lands by creating holes in sewerage pipes which create a flood-like situation in the nearby areas.