Naimat Khan
KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has directed the local government and other concerned departments to prepare a master plan for water supply and sewerage system along with treatment facilities and submit the same in his secretariat. He also directed them to work out a detailed plan along with deadline and estimated cost for provision of safe drinking water and treatment of drinking and waste water all over Sindh.
This he said while presiding over a high-level meeting held here at the CM House regarding the directives of the Supreme Court to provide safe drinking water to everyone in the province and stop releasing untreated effluent into the water bodies. The meeting was attended by provincial ministers Manzoor Wassan, Dr Sikandar Mendhro, Jam Khan Shoro, Mohammad Ali Malkani, fayaz Butt, Chief Secretary Rizwan Memon, Advocate General Zamir Ghumro, Chairman P&D Mohammad Waseem, Pricnipal Secretary to CM Sohail Rajput, secretary Health fazal Pechuho, Secretary Local government, secretary PHE department, all the commissioners and other concerned officers.
He said that the Supreme Court of Pakistan was helping provincial government for provision of safe drinking water and disposal of treated waste water. “It is our prime duty to take necessary measures so that people right from Kashmore to Karachi drink safe water,” he said.
Murad Ali Shah said that there are two diffderent targets for each and every city. The first one is to work out a detailed plan to rehabilitate the existing water supply and drainage system along with installation of treatment plants with deadlines for implementation and estimated cost so that the funds could be made available. ‘This working must be completed within a week and next week I’ll hold another meeting in which district-wise plans would be discussed and timeline would be set to start and complete the work,” he said. The other assignment is the preparation of water supply and drainage master plan for each and every district. This must be completed within next 15 days, he said.
Local Government Minister Jam Khan Shoro said tha that there are three phases of K-IV, the first phase is of 260 MGD which would be completed by 2018, the second phase is also of 260 MGD and it is scheduled to be completed by 2020 and the third phase of 130 MGD would be started in 2020 and would be completed in 2022. He added that work on phase-I is going on in full swing with mobilization of 700 different kind of machinery where 1100 workforce have been deployed. “The work on whole stretch of 122 km is in progress,” he said.
Mr Shoro said that in order to enhance the carrying capacity of KB Feeder the consultant, NESPAK has been hired for Rs35 million. They have prepared PC-I titled `Water requirement for K-IV project’ Improvement of KB Feeder and Keenjhar Lake worth Rs21.508 billin. The pC-I is under scrutiny.
The chief minister said that the existing water distribution system was poor and directed the water board to purse the world bank to study the feasibility. “This can be done by replacing the olddistribution system with new one by selecting areas,” he said and went on saying for example start from Gulshan-i-Iqbal and a similar exrcise be inititated in the area of water pump, Malir, North Nazimabad, nazimabad and then the areas which are not in the net of water board and start installing distribution system there. ‘I want you to pepare a proper work plan and come up to him with financial requirements,” he directed the water board MD Hashim Raza.
Murad Ali shah also pointed out defective billing system of water board for bulk purchasers. Replying to a question of the chief minister, the MD water board said that out of 5503 consumers, 1692 are being billed on working meters. He went on saying that 3420 notices have been issued to consumers for installing meters and recently 286 new meters have been installed.
The chief minister directed water board to start work on filter plants that include cleaning/desilting of clarifiers, pulsators, installation of chlorinators on their own resources. On this jam Khan Shoro told the chief minister that Rs25 million have been earmarked for regulater operation and maintenance of filter plants, laboratories have been equiped worth Rs25 million equipment and lab staff have also been imparted training from PCSWR.
The chief minister said that the Sindh government has provided has provided Rs446 million for chlorination and lab equipments, Rs58 million for rehabilitation of existing filteration plants and Rs3500 million for construction of new filter plants at Gharo, Pipri, Dumlotee, NEK, COD and at Hub. “I want you to expedite the work on these schemes on war footing,” he directed the local government minister.
WASA HYDERABAD: The chief minister was told that WASA has made substantial efforts to establish new filter plant of 30 MGD at Jamshoro Road. Three out of five clarifiers have been made functional, and a new lab has been established. The quality of water has improved at the source.
Mr Shoro told the chief minister that the provincial government has approved 21 schemes of WASA in water supply and sewerage sector for Rs11567.67 million in comparison of last financial year 2016-17. They include construction of two new filter plant, rehabilitation of four of five water supply filter plants, rehabilitation of three sewerage treatment plants, construction of sewerage system phase-III Qasimabad etc.
The meeting was told that Combined effluent treatment plant Kotri has been made functional for Rs63.79 million the chief minister provided outside budget. The chief minister directed the Commissioners of Sukkur and Larkana divisions to prepare a plan for water supply, disposal of treated domestic effluent into canals and installation of filter plants and come up in the next meeting for discussion and implementation of the plan.
The chief minister directed the commissioners and secretary health to make necessary arrangements in their respective districts, including Karachi for disposal of hospital waste and hospital liquid properly. “There must be separate filtration system in the hospitals,” he said and directed MD water board to identify the areas where water supply and sewerage lines are close to each other and make them separate in efficient way.
The chief minister concluding four-hour long meeting on efficient and safe supply of drinking water and treatment of affluent and industrial waste and treatment of domestic waste directed the district administration through chief secretary, respective departments to come up with an efficient, workable solution. “I want people of Karachi open their tap at home, take water boil it and drink- this must be so safe,” he said. I want efficiency in this task and lethargy, inefficiency would not be tolerated, he told the administration.
