Encroachments along Nullah Leh to be removed before monsoon

Rawalpindi : The local administration has declared six localities including Ratta Amral, Katariyan, Dhoke Najju, Tipu Road, Gawalmandi and Zai-ul-Haq Colony dangerous in monsoon.

The Commissioner Rawalpindi Division Syed Gulzar Hussain Shah has directed all concerned authorities to remove all kinds of encroachments and illegal occupations along Nullah Leh to avoid flood like situation during monsoon expected from last week of June 2021.

He has also directed to expedite the process of cleaning 11 tributaries which fall in Nullah Leh in line for the moon-soon.

He was talking while chairing the meeting of disaster management arranged by Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) at Commissioner Office on Wednesday.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Commissioner (DC) Amir Atiq Khan, Additional Commissioner (Coordination) Arif Umer Aziz, Assistant Commissioner (General) Maleeha Khan, Managing Director WASA Raja Shaukat, Managing Director RWMC, Chief Executive Officer Municipal Corporation and heads of other concerned departments.

He said that due to the link of these tributaries in Nullah Leh there is always a threat of flood which needs to be minimised by clearing the garbage heaps so that flow of water won’t get affected. Moreover he directed to pay special attention to other vulnerable areas including Ratta Amral, Katariyaan, DhokeNajju, Tipu Road, Gawalmandi and Zai-ul-Haq Colony. He also ordered RWMC to clear garbage heaps from all over the city as well as dumped garbage at nullahs which not only fortify flood threat but causes environment hazards as well.

Moreover, it was conveyed to Municipal Corporation and WASA will be held accountable for any kind of encroachment at the brink of these tributaries. He said that through disaster management trainings we can curtail the level of damages in natural disasters by opting petty safety measures so there is a dire need to spread awareness among masses in this regard.

The commissioner has directed Rescue 1122 to update ‘Flood Warning System’ installed here at Nullah Leh to avoid any untoward incident in monsoon season.

The Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Managing Director Raja Shaukat has briefed that we have completed the process of cleaning and desilting of Nullah Leh. We are in close contact with all departments to avoid any untoward incident during monsoon season, he claimed.