Joint strategy agreed to keep Peshawar clean

PESHAWAR: Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar along with Cantonment Board, Peshawar Development Authority and administrations of all four towns have agreed to formulate a joint integrated sanitation plan to keep the provincial capital clean.

A meeting was held here, with Chief Executive Officer WSSP Syed Zafar Ali Shah in the chair. The representatives of the PDA, Cantonment Board and towns’ administration attended the meeting.

Officials said the meeting was held in the wake of Chief Minister Mahmood Khan’s directive to plan a joint strategy about how to keep the city clean.

The representatives shared data of the sanitation services, quantity of waste collected daily and dumping and transportation system.

The chief executive officer asked them to decide how WSSP could facilitate them.

“PDA, Cantonment Board and towns’ administration should decide what kind of services WSSP can extend, either we should pick waste from your localities or you transport it to our transfer stations,” Syed Zafar Ali Shah said. WSSP would, then, take the waste to its own landfill site in Garhi Faizullah, he added.

He informed that the WSSP was developing the landfill site on modern lines to mitigate its environmental impacts and provide clean environment in its surroundings.

“We are properly covering the waste with lime and fumigate the surrounding area to control stench and breeding of mosquitoes,” he added.

The chief executive officer also informed that WSSP had been training its entire field staff including water supply, sanitation and technical employees to build their capacity in the relevant fields.

“The WSSP has now a skilled workforce in every field and modernising its machinery and is capable to train staff of the sanitation companies throughout Pakistan,” he added.

He offered to train sanitation, water supply and technical staff of the departments if they want, to which all of them expressed their willingness.

The representatives of the departments agreed to come up with a final plan after discussions with heads of their respective departments.

Police officials check security arrangements for Muharram

Senior police officials on Sunday visited imambargahs and routes of Muharram processions to check security arrangements.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Operations, Zahoor Babar Afridi and SP City Syed Atiq Shah visited different imambargahs and other worship places in inner Peshawar and inspected the security measures taken there.

The officials checked the preparedness level of the policemen deployed there and directed to make sure all the cops wear helmets and bullet-proof jackets.

The SSP and SP City directed the Bomb Disposal Unit and Canine Unit to sweep the routes of processions and the surroundings of 61 imambargahs in the city. Apart from police contingents, policemen in civvies and women police would be deployed at sensitive places.

An official said that around 10,000 policemen, including those coming from other districts, would be deployed in Peshawar during the Ashura. The routes of the processions will be cleared by BDU and Canine Unit while three-layer security would be deployed.

The security has already been beefed up across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for peaceful observance of Muharram. The contingents of police, Elite Force, Quick Response Force as well as Frontier Constabulary would be deployed in sensitive districts to maintain peace and provide security to the public.

Hooks, tampered meters removed in night-time raids

The Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) Mardan Circle Task Force conducted night-time operations against power pilferers in Garhi Kapoora, Sheikh Maltoon Town, Takht Bhai and Gojar Garhi subdivisions.

A press release said that the drive against illegal use of electricity and recovery of dues was conducted on the directions of Pesco chief executive.

The Peshawar Electric Supply Company Task Force Mardan Circle removed several direct hooks, replaced one tampered meter and shifted three others to poles.

In the areas of Toru subdivision of 11 KV Rural-1 feeder, three tampered meters were detected, four direct hooks removed.

In the areas of Takht Bhai subdivision, five tampered meters were detected and two direct hooks removed.

In the areas of Par Hoti subdivision of 11 KV Pohan feeder, Pesco teams during checking removed four direct hooks and four tempered meters.

The press release said that the drive against illegal use of electricity and direct hooks would continue.