BAHAWALNAGAR: Residents of various localities of Fort Abbas have been left to use contaminated water for the last 10 days. Sewage waste is mixed with tap water as the Fort Abbas Municipal Committee (MC) officials have failed to arrest the fault.

The affected localities include Abdullah Town, Pakki Mandi, Chaman Bazaar and Akhlaq Town, a resident Malik Zubair Hanif said.

“We have also lodged complaints, but the MC seems unable to rectify the problem apparently caused due to unplanned construction work,” Haji Saleem Zahid, of Abdullah Town, told Dawn.

He said that about four years ago, a water supply line leaked from different locations during a massive digging and drilling operation by the MC. However, instead of replacing the whole line, the officials only repaired some of its cracks, he added. As a result, citizens complain of sewage-mixed-water most of the time, especially in rainy days, he complained.

Muhammad Iqbal, Malik Zubair Hanif and others said that this problem created health issues, including the outbreak of diarrhoea about which they had lodged several complaints with the FMC Chief Officer but to no avail.

Chief Officer Umar Mukhtar said the department received a few complaints which had been resolved as received.

Residents said that the Bahawalnagar deputy commissioner should initiate a probe into whether the problem had been resolved or was it becoming worse day by day.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2022