RAWALPINDI: The Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) has sought over Rs1 billion from the provincial government to procure machinery for regular cleaning of Leh and other nullahs instead of just ahead of the monsoon season.

A senior official told Dawn that the agency requested the Punjab government through its parent department, the Housing, Urban Planning and Physical Health Engineering, to solve the issue of funds.

In a letter, Wasa requested Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to allocate and release Rs796 million for the machinery to clean Leh Nullah and 11 big nullahs, while Rs273 million was sought for the procurement of machinery for sewerage cleaning in the garrison city.

Since 2009, the dredging of Leh and its tributaries has been carried out with the financial help of the Punjab government through supplementary grants, or civic bodies use their own funds to undertake the task.

Agency seeks Rs796m for Leh and major drains, over Rs250m for sewerage cleaning

“It is pointed out here that currently, no machinery is available with Wasa to clear the banks and bed of Leh Nullah and its tributaries,” the letter stated. According to the latter, the dredging/desilting of Leh and its tributaries is an ongoing activity, and the Punjab government provides funds to Wasa Rawalpindi every year for dredging every monsoon season.

“There is a dire need that Wasa Rawalpindi should have its own machinery, like excavator/dump trucks etc., so that this desilting/dredging activity may be carried out throughout the year,” he said.

It was further added that the existing sewerage system was also one of the causes of local ponding due to frequent choking and that the existing operational machinery is also not sufficient due to the huge quantum of work.

It would be better to procure excavators, dumpers, suction & jetting units and water bowsers for Wasa Rawalpindi so that the cleaning activity of Leh Nullah and its tributaries, along with the sewerage system be done throughout the year rather than for two months before the monsoon season.

According to the demand, two chain excavators worth Rs352 million and three tyre excavators worth Rs444 million are required for the nullah cleaning, while three suction units worth Rs39 million, three jetting units worth Rs54 million, four Suzuki-mounted clampshell excavators worth Rs24 million, six dump trucks worth Rs99 million and six water bowsers worth Rs57 million are required.

Due to illegal dumping of building material and solid waste in Leh, the cross-section of Leh nullah has become narrowed at critical reaches where the situation requires immediate removal of such material.

In addition to this, due to reduced velocity in dry weather flow, the solid waste flowing on water also gets deposited on the bed and creates small islands obstructing the natural flow. It is therefore deemed essential to remove such obstructions immediately in order to ensure smooth flow during the rainy season.

The Leh Nullah Basin has a catchment area of 239.8km. It has six major tributaries. Three of them start in the foothills of Islamabad and flow down through the city of Rawalpindi, where other tributaries join them.

The catchment area of Leh Nullah lies about 69 per cent in Islamabad and 31 per cent in Rawalpindi. It enters Rawalpindi from the northern side of the city (Khayaban-i-Sir Syed) and flows through densely populated areas.

Flood in the Lai Nullah and its tributaries normally occur during the monsoon season (July to September) when Pakistan receives rainfall from three types of weather systems, namely monsoon depressions from the Bay of Bengal, India (the most important system); westerly waves from the Mediterranean Sea; and seasonal lows from the Arabian Sea.

On July 23, 2001, Rawalpindi faced a flood due to unprecedented heavy rainfall (620mm in 10 hours). As a result, Leh Nullah and its tributaries overflowed, causing an estimated financial loss of about Rs23 billion and about 74 human lives.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2025