LAHORE: After the successful rainwater harvesting on Lawrence Road, the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) has planned replicating it at two more places in the city -- Tajpura and outside Sheranwala Gate, Circular Road.

Rainwater reservoirs with a capacity of 1.2 and 1.5 million gallons will be constructed at these places, costing a total of Rs240 million. A total of 11 such projects will be undertaken in the city for this purpose under a phased programme.

The LDA governing body approved at its fifth meeting of the current fiscal year where LDA Director General Ahmad Aziz Tarar briefed the meeting about the decisions taken in the previous meeting. In order to reduce pollution and improve the city’s environment, the body allowed developing Dense Urban Forestation at 24 places in LDA’s housing schemes. Up to Rs150 million have been allocated in the LDA budget for tree plantation.

The meeting approved the project concept for integration of geographical information of plots situated in LDA housing schemes with the ownership record by designing GIS, MIS and integrated business work flow application for the LDA. The meeting approved a proposal for the revision of PC-I for Firdous Market Underpass Project due to higher rate of compensation for land acquired for this project. However, the cost of the project will not be affected as a result of this revision of PC-I.

The rainwater harvesting project was planned and launched in 2014 to raise underground water tables and use for other purposes, except drinking. A pilot activity was launched by constructing rainwater recharge wells at outside Qaddafi stadium and Islamia College. Later, the LDA also introduced some amendments to its building and zoning regulations.

“In this way, the rainwater would be stored and used for watering the plants and other purposes except drinking,” an official source told Dawn. The rainwater harvesting is the collection of rainwater directly from the surface it falls on. The water either goes directly into Lahore’s drainage system or is evaporated. Once collected and stored, it can be used for non-portable purposes.

“These include toilet flushing, garden watering and clothes washing. Another big advantage of the rainwater harvesting is recharging the aquifer/groundwater,” reads a 2014 study forwarded to then LDA director general by Wasa. It said the artificial recharge to the groundwater is a process by which the irrigation reservoir is augmented at a rate exceeding that obtained under natural conditions of replenishment.

Ashiana: A number of affectees of the government-funded Ashiana Quaid housing project on Thursday staged a protest demonstration outside the press club against not launching construction of two-marla houses allotted to them about eight years back.

The protesters carrying placards and banners inscribed with their demands chanted slogans against the government for “doing nothing” to ensure provision of houses promised to them under the project.

The affectees along with their family members, including children, said they had paid almost the full amount of the houses through installments regularly.

“We wonder that the government is paying no heed to the protests we had been holding off and on in the city,” a man protester deplored.

The Ashiana Quaid project was launched by the Punjab government in 2011. The Punjab Land Development Company (PLDC), owned by the provincial government, started work on the project that was designed to provide two-marla double-storey houses to 3,000 people.

However, after balloting and shortlisting of the deserving people, around 500 of the total 3,000 allottees failed to deposit the advance amount of Rs200,000, besides the initial installments.

The protesters warned the government if it failed to immediately resolve the issue, they would have no option but to intensify their protest movement.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2020