LAHORE: A sewage pond in Johar Town’s Samsani village has caused suffering for the locality residents due to the worst impact of accumulated wastewater.

“Look at this pond with massive domestic sewage,” a resident tells Dawn. “No one comes here either to have it sucked through machines and disposed of into the Wasa (Water and Sanitation Agency) drainage system or, at the very least, divert it directly to the sewage system. If someone wants to make Lahore clean under the chief minister’s Suthra Punjab drive, they must come here and ensure cleanliness in this village, which is situated in the heart of Johar Town — one of the major and developed urban areas in southern Lahore.”

Speaking to Dawn, another resident said besides the accumulated sewage, residents have also been facing severe hygiene and littering issues due to the number of buffalos kept by some influential people for selling milk.

“These buffalos are not only littering the areas but also causing accidents on the main roads in Johar Town. When someone complains, no one from the Municipal Corporation of Lahore (MCL) or any other enforcement agency evicts the animals and shifts them to designated areas outside the city,” he complained, adding that the accumulated sewage water is also polluting the underground water table, leading to various diseases in the area.

According to him, besides Samsani, there are various villages in Lahore with huge sewage-water ponds. But no one is bothering to take the required corrective and remedial measures in this regard. Wasa Managing Director Ghufran Ahmad said he would check the situation in Samsani and other villages.

Talking to Dawn, Chief Metropolitan Officer Iqbal Fareed said he would ask Iqbal Town Zone to check and coordinate with Wasa to drain out the sewage water in Samsani and other villages (if any).

“In fact, the MCL only manages and operates the sewage system in Raiwind city and Kahna. However, we also deal with some rural areas in the Iqbal zone,” he said.

Published in Dawn, March 9th, 2024