Task Force formed to ensure provision of clear water to residents of twin cities

ISLAMABAD, Jul 17 (dna):Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday formed a task force to ensure the provision of clean water to the residents of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, to prevent the contamination of existing water reservoirs from sewage, to supply water to Islamabad from various dams, and to establish an integrated water supply system from these dams.

The task force will be headed by Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi and will include members from the Capital Development Authority (CDA), Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Punjab Irrigation Department, and other relevant institutions.

Chairing a review meeting on the clean water supply system in Islamabad and surrounding areas here, the prime minister directed CDA to present a comprehensive plan with regard to recharging underground water reservoirs using rainwater.

A system should also be developed to prevent contamination of Rawal Dam due to sewage from adjacent settlements and drains that flow into the dam, the prime minister said directing to swiftly establish a waste-water treatment system to treat sewage discharged from illegal and informal settlements.

He also instructed to establish a water supply system soon to deliver the approved quota of water from Tarbela, Khanpur, and other dams to households in Islamabad.

The committee should finalize the formation of a Water Board for Islamabad and adjoining areas without delay, the prime minister stressed.

The meeting was attended by Federal Ministers Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi, Mian Muhammad Moeen Wattoo, and other senior officials.

The meeting was presented proposals of the task force that was formed to ensure provision of clean water in Islamabad.

The meeting was told that a supply system was being established to deliver the agreed quota of water from Rawal, Tarbela, and Khanpur dams to Islamabad.

Proposals and plans for the construction of several dams in surrounding areas and their water supply systems to Islamabad were also presented in the meeting.

The prime minister was briefed on the proposed establishment of a Water Board and its responsibilities. The board will manage current and future water resources, the distribution mechanism of water to households, allocation of water among stakeholders, and other related operations.

The CDA also gave a progress review on steps taken to prevent contamination of water reservoirs due to sewage discharge from informal settlements in Islamabad.