LAHORE: University students from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa attending a session of the third Pakistan Urban Forum on Sunday demanded a robust system of transportation across Pakistan.

The session on `Preference Debate of Urban Commuters in Pakistan’ was part of the third day proceedings of the forum, being held at Alhamra on The Mall under the aegis of the Punjab Urban Unit.

KP Transport department Secretary Zubair Qureshi, representatives of Punjab Transport Department, students from Peshawar University besides academia of NED University of Engineering and Technology were the participants in the discussion on various transport projects aimed at `providing affordable, efficient and fast means of transport to the commoners.’ It was the benefits and probable drawbacks segment of the debate that prompted students to complain about the ‘orthodox’ transportation system in place everywhere in the country, affecting their day-to-day routines.

“The world is progressing because it is moving fast; people in the First World spend minutes in reaching destinations and that is the key to their success. We waste hours on travel of the same distance and are short of targets,” said Gulab Khan, a university students from Peshawar.

Topics discussed on the third day of the five-day forum included water sanitation and waste management among other thematic areas as urban governance, robust urban institutions, remodeling the spatial urban pattern and gender mainstreaming for improved performance during different sessions.

The session on ‘Cleaner Cities’ became the most attended as representatives of waste management companies from all across Punjab shared their impressions, experiences and challenges while implementing the integrated solid waste management systems in large cities of the province.

Khawaja Ahmed Hassaan, the former chairman of Lahore Waste Management Company, in his keynote speech, termed the forum `the platform to share and learn about the urban development experiences where delegates from many other countries could make a difference by imparting the much-needed inspiration.

The session on rainwater harvesting emphasized looking out for alternate sources of water, especially in Pakistan and other Third World countries, where water scarcity was becoming a major challenge for urban settings.

Dr Zaheer Hassan Gardezi, rainwater harvesting specialist from AJK and Project Director ERA, shared the experiences from Azad Jammu and Kashmir where after the 2005 earthquake, he had introduced rainwater harvesting system working successfully till date.

The participants in the session also discussed water and sanitation agencies (WASAs) in various cities and the problems being faced by the both the management and residents along with suggesting sustainable solutions to those.

Published in Dawn, December 7th, 2015