RAWALPINDI: The military authorities have asked the provincial government to seek a permanent solution to the flooding in Leh Nullah in the monsoon.

During a meeting at 10 Corps headquarters, the representatives of the military said the desilting of Leh Nullah was not the solution to the problem.

They pointed out that encroachments along the Leh Nullah, the presence of cattle pens and unchecked dumping of solid waste into it hampered the smooth flow of water.

The meeting was called to chalk out a plan to evacuate the residents in case of a flood in the nullah in the monsoon.

The representatives of the commissioner, Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa), Rawal Town Municipal Administration (RTMA) and Potohar Town Municipal Administration (PTMA)attended the meeting.

Instead of evacuating the people from low-lying areas in post-flood, it would be better to take practical steps to avoid flooding in the nullah, the sources quoted the military authorities as saying.

However, the RTMA and RDA officials failed to present the details of the encroachments along the nullah which have squeezed its width.

At this, the meeting decided to launch a survey of the encroachments along the 11-km-long Leh Nullah from New Kattarian to Ammar Chowk.

The survey would jointly be conducted by the civic agencies and the revenue department within a month.

After the survey, an operation against the illegal settlements will be launched before the start of monsoon.

Additional District Collector General (ADCG) Imran Qureshi informed the meeting that the government was working to seek a permanent solution to the issue and it would start the work on Leh expressway project after the completion of the metro bus project.

He said the provincial government was also working to shift the milch animals outside the city and would remove all the cattle pens along the Leh Nullah very soon.

During the meeting, it was also decided that Rawalpindi Waste Management Company would take control of sanitation in

surrounding areas of Leh Nullah for daily collection of solid waste dumped on the banks of nullah.

Wasa Deputy Managing Director Mohammad Afzal said the authority had started the work to clear obstacles in the smooth flow of water in nullah at Dhoke Najju, Pirwadhai and Phaghwari under Rs30 million project.

He maintained that 50 per cent work had been completed and the remaining would be completed before the monsoon.

The heavy machinery was being used to remove garbage and mounds of mud from the nullah.

Published in Dawn February 18th , 2015

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