Caretaker Minister for Local Government Election and Rural Development Department (LGE&RDD) Advocate Sawal Nazir on Tuesday inaugurated the first of its kind in the province Decentralized Wastewater Treatment System (Dewats). Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (WSSP) constructed the system with financial and technical assistance from UNICEF here at Wazirbagh Park Peshawar. Dewats will treat sewerage water of the surrounding locality that will be used for irrigation of the park. Secretary LGE&RDD Syed Zaheerul Islam, Chief Executive Officer WSSP Dr Hassan Nasir, UNICEF Country WASH chief Haile Gawsha, UNICEF Chief Field Office Peshawar Abdullahi Muhammad Yusuf, General Manager Planning, Monitoring and Reporting (PMER) Syed Zamirul Hassan and General manager (Ops) Engr Turab Shah were also present on the occasion. The General Manager PMER briefed the minister on the overall aspects, including cost, environmental impacts and benefits of the project for the community. The minister called the project a step in the right direction that would help in conserving clean drinking water and water pollution. He added it would have a profound impact on the health and well-being of the community. He said a clean environment and access to potable water was very important for human health, lamenting that lack of waste water treatment plants in cities was polluting the fresh water resources. “The government and its relevant departments are aware of the problem and several projects are underway to find a lasting solution to save fresh water resources,” he said. He thanked the UNICEF for its financial assistance in different areas and said continuous assistance shows the organization’s trust and confidence in the provincial government and its departments. He said that the project was completed before the deadline and hoped that the organization would continue funding for low-cost projects with immense health and environmental impacts for the society. Secretary LG Islam also thanked the UNICEF for funding such projects in the province that suffered massive losses during militancy. WSSP’s Chief Executive Officer shed light on the importance of the project and said that the WSSP was not only striving to supply clean drinking water but taking steps to conserve groundwater resources and prevent them from contamination. “The project is energy-efficient and environment friendly that has been completed in collaboration with locals to inculcate a sense of ownership among them,” Dr Nasir said. He also shared details of other projects completed recently for improvement in water supply system including the installation of water testing devices and SCADA system on 46 tube wells. Speaking on the occasion, UNICEF’s Abdullahi said that Dewats was not a big project but very significant for the city. He said that completion of the project was a step towards bigger project in treating waste water and hoped that time was not far when the city would have so many systems. The organization has been funding various projects in Water and Sanitation sector with WSSP including replacement of water supply lines, tube wells automation, installation of water testing devices on tube wells and reconstruction of sewerage systems.