Rawalpindi: Open manholes, drains posing threat to Pindiites

[Naveed Yaseen]

* Residents say no action was taken when they requested WASA, CDGR to cover manholes

By Aamir Yasin

RAWALPINDI: More than 200 open manholes and uncovered drains are posing a serious threat to the lives of Pinidiites due to indifference of civic authorities.

Walking on the main roads, streets and footpaths has become a risky business, as a pedestrian’s next step could be his last. Three days ago, a 10-year-old boy died when he fell into an uncovered water tank near Saidpur Road. However, the civic authorities did not take the issue seriously, as no measures were taken to prevent such horrific incidents in the future.

Apart from the said incident, there were many incidents of people sustaining serious injuries after falling into uncovered manholes. However, civic agencies like the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) and the City District Government Rawalpindi (CDGR) did not take necessary measures to cover manholes.

According to data collected by Daily Times, more than 70 manholes over WASA sewerage lines were not covered, while 40 manholes over the CDGR main drains and more than 60 manholes over Rawal Town Municipal Administration sewerage lines were not covered.

The absence of streetlights in several areas has made situation more dangerous during night. “Who cares, the WASA wakes up only when somebody is injured after falling into the open drain in Millat Colony,” said a resident, Rashid Ahmed while pointing out a drain in Millat Colony near Mukha Singh Estate, which is lying uncovered for several months. He said that many people fell into the drain and were injured.

Residents: In Mohanpura near the busiest Jinnah Road, there are five open manholes lying uncovered. The area residents said that they had asked the WASA and the CDGR to take immediate action but they failed to cover the open manholes.

The pavements over the drains along main roads such as Shah Nazar Pull near Markazi Imam Bargah, Jamia Masjid Road, Arjan Nagar, Sadiqabad, Circular Road and Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Road have also gaping holes, which could cause serious injuries to pedestrians. The manholes over sewerage lines located in Satellite Town, Khayban-e-Sir Syed, Millat Colony, Fauji Colony, Sadiqabad, Ratta Amral, Mohanpura, Dhoke Farman Ali and other places are also uncovered.

“It is strange that the civic authorities levied taxes from the citizens but failed to provide maximum civic facilities in return. The manholes are uncovered, slaps of footpaths are missing and street lights are absent in the city,” said Zaheer Shah, an advocate.

He said that the manholes on the roads are left open despite the fact that they cause many accidents involving two-wheelers.

When contacted, Solid Waste Management District Officer Dr Mazhar Azeem said that there were 30 uncovered manholes that were the responsibility o the CDGR. He said that the CDGR was responsible for those manholes, which were established on main drains in the city, the WASA was responsible for manholes over the sewerage lines, and the Town Municipal Administration was responsible for the rainwater channels.

He said that the department had so far repaired and covered 19 manholes, adding that the remaining 11 manholes would be covered before January 1, 2009.

He said that they put bamboo barricades around the uncovered manholes to avoid any untoward situation. He blamed drug addicts for stealing the covers of manholes and said that two days ago, they covered two manholes on Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Road in front of the Government Islamia School No IV but someone stole the four slaps in the night.

He said that he had directed the sanitary supervisors to check the covers of manholes and lodge complaints in their respective police stations.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...08_pg11_11