LAHORE, June 4: Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi on Sunday said a crash programme to improve water supply and sewerage in the province had been launched under which all old, rusted and damaged pipelines would be changed.

It would be obligatory on the Wasa authorities in Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Multan and Rawalpindi to ensure water testing on a daily basis, he said, announcing that laboratories would be established in all district headquarters in this regard.

The chief minister was presiding over a meeting regarding the supply of clean drinking water in the province here at his secretariat. Chief Secretary Salman Siddique and Additional Chief Secretary Naguibullah Malik also attended the meeting.

The chief minister ordered that the public health engineering department should also take water samples in all districts. He said the housing and urban development department should establish a project management unit on the pattern of health and education departments to ensure proper implementation of the water supply initiative.

He said monitoring of the system would be made more effective so that optimum results could be obtained. The information regarding steps to be taken for improvement in water supply and sewerage should be directly conveyed to his secretariat for effective monitoring.

The chief minister ordered that working of the Wasa and public health engineering officials should be improved and those found inefficient be taken to task.

He said the Rs7 billion southern Punjab basic urban development project had been launched under which water supply and sewerage system in 21 tehsils of Multan, Bahawalpur, Khanewal, Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur and Dera Ghazi Khan would be improved.

The chief minister reviewed reasons for the outbreak of gastroenteritis in different districts and deaths as a result.

He directed the officials concerned to create awareness among people about prevention from the disease and said the health department should also adopt preventive measures.

The disease had spread in Fasialabad definitely due to polluted water whereas people suffered from it in other districts because of environmental pollution and other reasons. People should be taught about reasons for contraction of the disease, he said.

The chief minister ordered that chlorine should be put in all water tanks. All tehsil municipal administrations should also identify such pipelines that had outlived their utility, allocating budget for their replacement.

Mr Naguibullah Malik said the local government and other administrative departments concerned had been activated for implementation of the water and sewerage programme.

Housing Secretary Khalid Sultan briefed the meeting on different aspects of the long-term plan.

Abattoir: District Nazim Mian Amer Mahmood has said shifting of the slaughterhouse from Kot Kamboh on Bund Road to Shahpur Kanjran on Multan Road will start next week.

Talking to a delegation of Sabzazar Welfare Society office-bearers here on Sunday, the nazim said that arrangements for shifting of the abattoir had been completed and the process would start next week. He said that he would personally supervise the shifting process.