GUJRAT: The local administration has launched the desilting of all the main drains of the city as a preemptive measure to tackle urban flooding before the onset of the monsoon.
Heavy machinery and human resources are being utilised in the desilting campaign while slabs covering roadside drains are being removed as a part of anti-encroachment drive.
Some of the drains located in the outskirts of the city are also being desilted after almost a decade. Gurala drain connected with the city’s Kalara drain and the natural flow of draining out the city’s wastewater into the Chenab river had previously been cleaned in 2016-17.
An official of Gujrat Municipal Corporation (GtMC) said the desilting drive might continue now on a regular basis until the start of the monsoon as a preemptive measure to avoid the flooding the city faced last year. He added that though the planning for a permanent solution to urban flooding is yet to be executed, utilisation of the available resources to make the existing drainage and sewerage system beneficial, the administration started to work on ensuring the flow of drains up to the full capacity. For which, the official said, the desilting of drains and removal of encroachments on the open drains could play a vital role ahead of the rainy season.
The sanitary staff also launched the cleaning of Shah Hussain drain, starting from Jinnah Chowk up to the GT Road whereas the open drain along the GT Road is also being desilted. Similarly, desilting of open drains along the Jalalpur Jattan Road right from Kutchery Chowk to Boley storm water channel is also under way for the last couple of weeks.
The sewerage system is also being cleared through winch machines in various parts of the city such as the road between Fawara Chowk to GTS Chowk, Railway Road and other areas.
Deputy Commissioner Safdar Virk has told Dawn that efforts to complete the under-construction sewerage scheme from Shadman Chowk to Rehmania storm water channel within a month is also underway so that the pressure of water flow at Jinnah Chowk could be reduced and traffic on Rehman Shaheed Road might be restored. He says that the roadside drains along city’s busy and crucial arteries would also be desilted at least once or twice ahead of coming rainy season; however, several proposals regarding the permanent solution to the drainage system had been under consideration of the district and provincial government.
It is learnt the local political leadership of the ruling PML-Q and PML N have also been striving to get Gujrat and Lalamusa towns of the district included in the World Bank’s programme of revamping the sewerage of different urban centres of Punjab. However, these efforts have not been successful yet.
Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2025
