January 25, 2006	Wednesday	Zilhaj 24, 1426

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RAWALPINDI, Jan 24: The 44 filtration plants installed a year ago in Rawal Town are rusting due to lack of maintenance, as neither the Town Municipal Administration (TMA) nor the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) is willing to supervise them. These filtration plants had been installed during the tenure of the then tehsil nazim, Raja Hamid Nawaz.

The cartridges, ultraviolet lamps and manual systems fitted in the filtration plants of 46 union councils have been crusted with bacterial and fungal contaminants due to lack of maintenance.

Sources in the TMA told Dawn that the authority had forwarded a letter to the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) concerning the maintenance of the plants and it was decided that the latter would use its own funds for this purpose.

They said the TMA was responsible for installing the filtration plants, while their maintenance was responsibility of the agency.

The sources admitted that out of the 44 filtration plants, 30 had become out of order, while the remaining were functioning erratically.

In Dhoke Ratta Amral, all three filtration plants are out of commission and their water taps have also been stolen. The residents said they had brought the problem to the notice of Wasa and TMA authorities but none of them was ready to own the responsibility.

However, when this reporter contacted a Wasa official, he said they had received no letter from the TMA about the upkeep of the plants. He also said that the agency was already cash- strapped.