LAHORE: Residents of the city heaved a sigh of relief on Saturday after the region received light rainfall. Though registered at scattered places, the rainfall brought the mercury down to some extent. Although rainwater did not submerge roads and low-lying areas except some places were drainage system was not working properly, it made cattle vendors a bit jittery. The rainwater at cattle markets turned mud and fodder into sludge, putting a question mark on the performance of the district administration, Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), Municipal Corporation Lahore (MCL), Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) and other departments concerned. Buyers and sellers at cattle markets were fuming at poor cleanliness arrangements. We are facing water shortage and lack of cleanliness arrangements, restricting people from visiting the markets and reducing the prices of sacrificial animals,” a cattle vendor said. To a question, he said that officials were not ready to listen to their problems. On the other hand, a Cattle Market Management Company Lahore official denied the allegations, saying: “Every facility is available at cattle markets and our workers are effectively dealing with them.” A LWMC official said, “We are working efficiently to ensure cleanliness across the city.” LWMC’s staff and machinery readily respond to complaints received from any area, he added. Mainly hot and humid weather is expected in most parts of the country in the next 24 hours. However, rain-thundershower with gusty winds is expected at isolated places in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Kalat divisions, Islamabad, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. On Saturday, 7mm rain was recorded in Lahore whereas the city weather remained partly cloudy after the showers. Separately, the local government secretary held a meeting with LWMC official’s regarding Eidul Azha cleanliness operations and arrangements. LWMC Managing Director Farrukh Butt along with other officials participated in the meeting. The LWMC managing director gave a briefing to secretary on cleanliness operation. He said that the LWMC would set up eight temporary transfer stations for timely lifting of animals’ offal. The secretary directed the LWMC to make all possible arrangements in this regard. Another meeting was held between representatives of 72 private housing societies of Lahore and LWMC officials. The meeting was chaired by General Manager Operations Sohail Malik. “We have set up temporary collection points near several and it will be their responsibility to bring animal waste to designated collection points from where LWMC will lift and transfer it to the dumpsite,” Malik told the meeting. Published in Daily Times, August 19th 2018.