THIS is with reference to an article by your correspondent in Dawn a few days ago. I have some suggestions to make: All sewerage projects should be completed before constructing any residential block or starting any other project.

The reason is that in some areas deep excavation beyond 10 yards is required which means at least 40 square yards of land will be required to carry out the laying of pipes. However, in congested areas, it would be impossible to have so much free space for the purpose.

The laying of pipes requires properly compacted soil so that the latter does not give way under pressure when the pipes are laid down. However, here rarely any engineer checks this in advance.

The pipes are laid on specified gradients to form a slope for the water to flow smoothly. However, since the work is extremely delicate, therefore, it is mostly ignored by the officials concerned.

While construction work is being carried out, rocks usually come in the way. The contractor instead of having these rocks removed will just avoid laying pipes there, as it becomes a costly and cumbersome affair.

Besides, there are so many other factors which make a huge difference such as the quality of pipes being used which must be sturdy enough to sustain acidic conditions. Then there is dishonesty in work and corruption when under-quality and cheap materials are used which can later play havoc with people’s lives. As most of the work is carried underground, hardly anybody comes to know about it.

The treatment plants are generally poorly looked after, as a consequence of which such lands are easily embezzled by government officials for personal use. Officials have been doing this in Karachi since quite a long time.

SHAIKH ARZ MOHAMMED
Karachi