Daily Times

Rawalpindi district administration has set up five ‘Flood Relief Camps’ in different areas of the city while the officials of the departments concerned would be on duty at these camps during the Monsoon season to cope with any emergency situation during flash flooding particularly in low-lying areas near Nullah Lai.

According to a Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) spokesman, the camps have been set up at Motti Mahal, Liaquat Bagh, Bagh Sardaran, Commercial Market Satellite Town and Khayaban-e-Sir Syed.

He informed that Managing Director (MD) WASA, Saleem Ashraf, had given orders to complete the dredging and de-silting work of Nullah Leh swiftly before the first pre-monsoon rain.

Over 90 per cent of the dredging and de-silting work had been completed. Similarly, the dredging and de-silting work of 11 other major and minor Nullahs in Rawalpindi had also been completed, he said.

The spokesman said that all necessary arrangements had been made in this regard. The Managing Director had also inspected the operational preparations at Gawalmandi Bridge.

He also mentioned that this year, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) had predicted over 30 percent more rainfall compared to previous years. Therefore, WASA Rawalpindi had finalised its Monsoon plan for 2024, and all the necessary arrangements were being made to cope with the upcoming Monsoon season. A rain emergency had been declared until September 15, 2024, he informed.

In addition, the field offices had been established as Flood Response Units at five different places in Rawalpindi, MottiMahal, Liquat Bagh, Bagh Sardaran, Commercial Market Satellite Town, and Khyaban-e-Sir Syed.

WASA’s heavy machinery, including eight sucker machines, nine jetting machines, six sewer cleaning machines, 34 de-watering sets, and 29 water bowsers, is in working condition and deployed at these Flood Response Units to give quick response during heavy rains.

The Commissioner of Rawalpindi Division, Aamir Khattak, had also directed the authorities to complete the dredging and de-silting work promptly, he said adding, section-144 to prevent the dumping of garbage and solid waste in Nullah Leh was imposed.

The spokesman informed that Special Secretary Housing and Urban Development Punjab, Tayyab Fareed visited Gawalmandi area on Saturday and inspected the cleanliness work of Nullah Lai.

During the visit, the Secretary also reviewed the Monsoon preparations of Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Rawalpindi. On the occasion, the Special Secretary said that all the departments concerned need to be alert after the recent forecast of the Meteorological Department.

He said that WASA Rawalpindi had made extensive preparations for Monsoon, including timely cleaning of major drains and sewage lines of the city along with Nulla Lai.

Next two months are very important and there is need to be alert all the time, he said and instructed the departments to make coordinated efforts to provide relief to the citizens. Machinery and staff should be deployed particularly in low-lying areas of the city to deal with any kind of emergency situation, he directed. The Special Secretary Housing further informed that the Punjab government had provided funds timely for the annual cleanliness project, due to which WASA had completed the arrangements in Rawalpindi on time. He expressed the hope that the citizens would not face any kind of problem this year during heavy rains.

Special Secretary Housing said that Commissioner Rawalpindi Division, Engineer Aamir Khattak is monitoring the whole process and all the institutions are working under a comprehensive strategy.

WASA would use heavy machinery including jetting and sucker machines, de-watering sets, winch machines and water bowsers to clear stagnant rain water during heavy rains from different city areas particularly low-lying. The Commissioner had instructed the Rawalpindi Waste Management Company (RWMC) to clean the drains and improve the sewerage system in the city to avoid any untoward incident during Monsoon.

Traffic Control

City Traffic Officer (CTO) Rawalpindi, Taimoor Khan has directed the Traffic Wardens to make all-out efforts to ease traffic flow on city roads during Muharram.

According to a City Traffic Police (CTP) Spokesman, over 931 Traffic Wardens under the supervision of inspectors and DSPs would perform duties on city roads to control traffic flow during Muharram.

He informed traffic Police Officers and Wardens have also been directed to take action against vehicles having tinted glasses, revolving lights, unregistered vehicles and motorcycles and others moving without, improper and fake number plates.

In order to ensure the security of the mourning processions during Muharram-ul-Harram, CTP Rawalpindi has issued a comprehensive traffic plan.

According to the plan, there would be a complete ban on parking any vehicle or pushcart on the route of the procession. Fork lifters would move with Muharram processions, he said.

The wardens have been directed to remove all kind of encroachments from the processions routes besides keeping a vigil on suspected persons and things. Entry of vehicles on the route of the processions would be blocked by erecting barricades and other hurdles, the spokesman added. He said, Traffic Police officials would be deployed along with district police personnel to ensure the security of the mourners. Strict disciplinary action would be taken against the delinquent officials, he said.

He informed that traffic load would be diverted to alternate routes during mourning processions. A control room would be set up at Traffic Headquarters to monitor the situation while motorists who seek help and assistance can use CTP helpline 051-9272616.

Murree Parks

Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) Rawalpindi would utilize all available resources to upgrade parks of Murree, said a PHA spokesperson. She informed that on the directives of Director General (DG), PHA, Ahmad Hasan Ranjha, the authorities concerned had been directed to make all-out efforts to upgrade the parks of Murree. During a visit to various parks of Murree, the DG reviewed the facilities being provided to the public in terms of quality recreation, she informed.