RAWALPINDI: After heavy rain on Sunday, the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) stopped work on the relocation of water supply and sewerage lines at Chandni Chowk.

The work had been started to make way for the elevated road to be constructed under the metro bus project.

The agency received Rs54 million from the Punjab government to shift its water and sewerage lines located on Benazir Bhutto Road. It started work on Sunday morning at Chandni Chowk but due to the rain had to stop it for three days.

“We had received directives from the provincial government to relocate the utility services before March 27,” said Wasa managing director Raja Shaukat Mehmood while talking to Dawn.

However, the main water supply line from Rawal Dam, which brought 23 million gallons of water daily to the garrison city, remained unaffected, he added.

“Wasa informed the project director about the main supply line on Benazir Bhutto Road and said if its present location was changed, there would be acute water shortage. At present, the main supply line has been laid in a way so that there is no need to pump water from the dam to the consumers,” he said.

Mr Mehmood said according to the weather advisory received from the meteorological department, there were chances of rain in the coming days which was why the agency stopped the contractors from starting the work to avoid inconvenience to the public.

He said the agency had awarded contract to three firms so that they would start the work simultaneously and complete it within the stipulated time.— A Reporter