GUJRAT: The water and sanitation agency (Wasa) has enhanced the capacity of 12 disposal stations of the city with installation of new pumping machines and back-up power generators.

Housing, Urban Development, and Public Health Engineering (HUD & PHED) Department Secretary Noorul Amin Mengal visited the city on Monday to review the preparations for the monsoon as well as the ongoing uplift schemes under Punjab Development Programme.

Deputy Commissioner Nurulain Qureshi was also present when Wasa officials gave a briefing on uplift schemes.

Official sources said 10 new water pumping machines and 19 back-up power generators had been installed at the disposal stations whereas the pace of work on the new drainage schemes was also enhanced to complete it by the end of July.

It may be recalled that the city had witnessed the worst-ever urban flooding of the history last year when the rainwater from Kashmir hills also entered it and it could not be drained.

Wasa Managing Director Kashan Hafeez Butt told Dawn the aim of raising the capacity of these stations was timely drainage of rainwater. He added that last year when Wasa services were launched during flooding, there were only five back-up power generators but now besides new generators, 10 power generators had been hired on a rental basis so that the rainwater could be drained even when there was no electricity supply.

The officer said that in order to stop the rainwater from Kashmir hills, the irrigation department had launched the construction of a new stormwater open drains from Majra Pulli near Daulat Nagar so that the rain water could merge into the existing storm water channel near Fatehpur.

Another open drain is about to be completed at Loraiy Chowk near Madina Syedan and a 40 cusec disposal station is also expected to become functional at that point, said a senior official and added that the work on the scheme of 100 cusecs rainwater pipeline being laid between Zahoor Elahi Stadium Kutchery Chowk to Boley storm-water channel, was done expeditiously by Wasa.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2026