SIALKOT
Three decades ago, Awami road Daska was a secluded place where the then municipal administration had installed a water disposal unit namely Awami Road Disposal but it has been surrounded by dense population nowadays with thousands of houses neighbouring it and the facility has become a public nuisance.
Total sewerage of Old Daska and Main Bazaar is channelised into this disposal which then diverts it to BRB canal Daska. At least 6 kanal land around the disposal has become a swampy pond which is not only dangerous for the adjacent houses but also an environmental pollution because. It has become difficult to take a breath in the area as it stinks. The people have been asking their leaders and administrators but nobody paid heed to people’s problem.
“This menace is four feet deeper than Awami road and surrounded by houses from rest of the sides and when it rains, the rainy water mixes with drainage and drains in the big plot,” told Rana Shafique, an affected resident.
“Two out of four walls of my house have cracked and same is the situation with rest of the neighbors of this filth house,” told Dr Shafique. “Our floors dilapidated at least 6 inches as the rainwater stuck inside the disposal plot is continuously watering foundations of our houses and this water remains here 9 months a year. I have personally given applications to TMA Daska, the AC and MPA Asif Bajwa but to no avail.”
According to Qadeer, another effected person, “If my house collapses or my children die due to this pond, an FIR shall be lodged against AC Daska, TMA and the MPA who are well aware of the menace.”
“I live six plots behind the gutter and still I cannot open my windows because the air stinks here due to the disposal,” said Abid. “Nobody will even bother if a house collapses here or some people die due to the aggravator. Our water has become contaminated because of this filth stock and most of the people are infected with hepatitis A and like diseases,” said Ejaz Shah, another dweller.
When contacted, the MPA said, “I have submitted a request to the Punjab chief minister for a special grant for the people of Awami road so that we may take the disposal out of the city to Raja Ghaman Syphon. I am sure that the government would come up to the expectations of the people very soon.”
Tehsil Municipal Officer Tariq Zia said that the issue was already on the administration’s agenda on special instructions of AC Daska Zulfiqar Bhoon. “We have a plan to cover the drainage wells and develop its plot into a lawn type park,” he said.