LAHORE: Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Lahore and Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) have been put on high alert to ensure timely disposal of storm-water and solid waste from every choking point of the provincial capital.
Following the instructions of Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on Monday, field staff of WASA and LWMC launched an operation during rains in city to clear the choking points from solid waste and rainwater.
WASA Managing Director Zahid Aziz, Deputy MD Operations Ghufran Ahmed, LWMC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rafia Haider and other officers visited different areas including Lakshmi Chowk, Lawrence Road, Muslim Town Underpass, Sheranwala Gate and Garhi Shahu to inspect water disposal.
The WASA MD directed the operational teams to ensure deployment of sufficient staff and machinery during rains to avoid any untoward incident.
He also asked the staff at the emergency centres to repute additional workforce to clear the problematic points and roads to keep the flow of traffic smooth.
WASA has made 16 emergency response centres (ERCs) fully operational in various choking points of the provincial capital to avoid any emergency situation during upcoming monsoon season.
These centres will cover 29 already identified choking points of the city where storm-water needed speedy disposal on emergency basis to avoid urban flooding during rains.
WASA Deputy Managing Director Ghufran Ahmed told reporter that sufficient equipment, along with de-watering pumps and other machinery, had been provided at the ERCs. He said the required staff will work round-the-clock in three shifts to ensure timely disposal of rainwater from the choking points. He said that special monitoring will be carried out around the underpasses to avoid any untoward situation.
WASA has established ERCs at major choking points including Lakshmi Chowk, Kashmir Road, GPO Chowk, Sheranwala Gate, Shalimar Flyover Baghbanpura, Cooper Road, Qartaba Chowk, Lytton Road, Rasool Park, Dubai Chowk Iqbal Town, Nabha Road, SOS Village, Firdous Market, Ek Moria Pull, Chowk Nakhuda, Bhatti Gate, Tikka Chowk Johar Town, Alhamd Colony, Railway Station, Dumoria Pul, Jinnah Hospital U-Turn, Empress Road, Shah Jamal, Bagheechi Saethan GT Road, B Block Tajpura, Chowk Nakhud Shadbagh, Qainchi Chowk Ferozepur Road, Poonch Road, Usman Block Garden Town and Sultan Ahmed Road.
The DMD Operation said that following the directions by WASA MD, strict monitoring would be ensured and all staff had been directed to remain in field. He added that leaves of all staff have been cancelled from July 1 to Sept 15 to ensure availability of sufficient workforce during rains.395