RAHIM YAR KHAN: The municipal authorities of Rahim Yar Khan and Khanpur are disposing of sewage into three canals of the district which irrigate the agricultural land and provide drinking water for humans and cattle.

These three canals are Khanpur Minor Canal and Shareen Minor Canal in tehsil Khanpur and Adam Sahaba Canal in tehsil Rahim Yar Khan.

According to a letter, sent by sub-divisional officer (SDO) of irrigation sub-division of Khanpur to the Khanpur Municipal Committee chief officer, dated 28-01-2025, the Khanpur section sub-engineer reported that the municipal committee is laying pipeline for disposal of sewage into Khanpur Minor Canal.

This canal’s water is being used for irrigation of crops and drinking purpose for humans and animals. The groundwater of the area is saline and unfit for drinking. The sewage will affect the public health and may cause the epidemic situation in the locality.

Furthermore, the municipal committee did not get a no objection certificate (NOC) for disposal of sewage into the canal which was under the irrigation department. The letter requests adoption of alternate measures for sewage disposal.

A copy of the letter was also sent to the deputy commissioner, sub-engineer (irrigation) RYK, executive engineer Khanpur, AC Khanpur and sub-engineer Khanpur with direction to not allow the disposal of sewage into the canal.

Talking to Dawn, Wasim Korai, a resident of Mud Ilyas, says the 4km long sewerage was being laid in the southern side of Khanpur city.

“This sewerage line will carry the sewage of Basti Jatki, Mohallah Khokhran, Ghareebabad and store in the sewerage wells of Chak 57-P. The sewage would be dumped into Khanpur Minor Canal,” he adds.

The Khanpur Minor Canal originates from Abbasia Link Canal at the grid station. It irrigates Mauza Hakra, Chak 57-P, 58-P, Mauza Kotla Mahi, Mauza Musa Kanjoo, Mauza Khokhran, Mauza Mud Ilyas and Mauza Noor Wah.

“The people and livestock of these areas drink the canal water due to saline and brackish subsoil water and sewage disposal into the canal would create problems,” says Korai.

The municipal committee is throwing a huge quantity of sewage of the northern side of Khanpur city through a big pipeline into Shareen Minor Canal on the Airport Garhi Ikhtiyar Khan Road at Abbasia Bridge. This canal originates from Head Tallywala and irrigates the land in dozens of villages in the areas of Khanpur, Sahja and Kot Samaba. The residents of these areas also consume the canal water for drinking as well as for their cattle because of brackish subsoil water.

In Rahim Yar Khan, the municipal committee has been disposing of sewage into Adam Sahaba Canal for the last one-and-a-half years. This canal irrigates the land of tehsils of Rahim Yar Khan and Sadiqabad and the people as well as their cattle drink its water.

There is an old issue of disposal of sewage of the north western areas of Rahim Yar Khan for the last six years due to failure of a mega sewerage project launched in 2009-10.

In September 2024, the Environment Protection Department (EPD) team visited the site and reached the conclusion that the inlet sewerage pipes belonged to the MC and it had written a letter to chief officer MC to remove these inlet pipes or action would be taken as per the law. But the EPD has not taken any action in this regard yet.

When contacted, EPD Deputy Director Aamir Rehmani told Dawn that he had written a letter, dated 20-03-2025, to irrigation high-ups of Rahim Yar Khan and copied it to the DG EPA Punjab, chief officers of Rahim Yar Khan and Khanpur and deputy commissioner of Rahim Yar Khan.

In the letter, he mentioned the matter of three canals and requested the authorities concerned to issue the necessary directions to the field staff concerned for removal of sewage disposal pumps/pipes from the abovementioned canals in the best interest of the public and environment.

This correspondent contacted Assistant Commissioner/Administrator Municipal Committee (MC) Khanpur Faiz Fareed to get his version on throwing sewage into two canals of Khanpur but he did not answer the repeated calls. However, the Sub Divisional Engineer (SDO) irrigation Khanpur Muhammad Khalid has told Dawn that he has sent many letters to Chief Officer MC Khanpur as well as to administrator MC on this serious issue but to no avail.

He says that the throwing sewage water lifted by a pump station at Khanpur Minor Canal was temporarily suspended and it being disposed of in the agricultural fields due to closure of the canal. But the practice of throwing huge quantities of sewage into the Shareen Minor Canal is still going on, he adds.

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2025