CHINIOT: Stagnant rainwater has been inundating the roads for the last seven days while the municipal committee has failed to restore the choked sewerage system.

The sewerage of major parts of the city got choked following heavy rain about a week back. As a result, sewage has also come out on the roads and mixed with the rainwater. Although the teams of the municipal committee are busy pumping out the rainwater that has mixed with sewage from the inundated roads to the disposal line with turbines and pumps, especially on the Chiniot-Jhang road and Jhumra Chowk but it too could not do much help. Due to the roads inundated with rainwater and sewage, the traffic movement is also affected and sometimes it would create a chaos.

The major roads affected by the choked sewerage include Shahrah-i- Quaid Azam, Katchery Road, Dr Aziz Ali Road and parts of Jhang Road and Mohallah Garha, which are still submerged in sewage, creating problems for the people.

The sewerage of major parts of the city is connected with the Jhang Road disposal works which links sewerage to Chiniot-Jhang road. This two kilometer long sewerage line, laid about 15 years ago, has become insufficient due to increasing population, water discharge and construction of commercial buildings and plazas along it. The successive municipal authorities did not pay much heed to update the sewerage with pipes of a big diameter.

Malik Khalil Ahmad, the president of Furniture Market Traders at Shahrah-i-Quaid Azam, said the businesses of the traders had come to a halt due to presence of sewage in front of them on the road. He said it was damaging the roads and adjoining shops, plazas and houses, as well. He demanded the municipal committee to allocate funds for replacement of sewerage for major parts of the city.

Deputy Commissioner Aman Anwer Kedwaii said the municipal committee staff were busy round the clock to identify and fix the problems of sewerage. He said sewerage water standing on roads was being pumped out through motors working 24/7 but they had limited capacity. He said they were also replacing the faulty part of sewerage wherever needed.

He said the government had slapped a ban on new development schemes due to which the replacement of sewerage was impossible. However, he added, the faulty portions of the pipeline were being replaced and situation would be in control within the next 24 hours.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2019