RAWALPINDI: With monsoon two months away, the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) on Monday started cleaning Leh Nullah. The clean-up drive will cost Rs30 million and will be completed by June 30.

According to the Met Office, rainfall will be higher than usual in June and July whereas precipitation in northern Punjab, Kashmir and adjoining areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan may be above normal.

Talking to Dawn, Wasa Managing Director Raja Shaukat Mehmood said the civic agency had started clean-up drive of the nullah from Gawalmandi.

“Heavy excavator machines have entered the nullah at Gawalmandi and will clear it at eight points,” he said, adding that problematic areas had been identified and work would be launched in two phases.

“In the first phase, Wasa will clear garbage under the eight bridges of Leh Nullah while in the second phase, waste from construction material, dumped along the nullah will be cleared from I.J. Principal Road to Moti Mahal bridge. Heavy machinery would remain in the area till the advent of monsoon season,” Mr Mehmood said.

“The same exercise was carried out by Wasa last year as this activity helps water flow smoothly in the nullah and protected adjoining areas from flooding during monsoon season,” he said.

The managing director said Wasa had also started taking action against those who dumped construction material waste in and along the nullah.

He said the civic agency was spending millions every year and people should stop dumping construction material in the nullah, adding that the district administration had conducted a survey and identified eight problematic areas where islands of garbage and construction waste were spotted.

The commissioner also imposed a ban on dumping garbage in and around the nullah. Apart from this, Mr Mehmood said Wasa was ready to clean the 11 big nullahs of the garrison city also and sought financial help from the district administration in this regard.

He said Rs50 million was needed to clean the nullahs, adding that encroachments along the nullahs were the main hurdle in the cleaning drive but there was need to take action.

Published in Dawn,May 10th, 2022