KOHAT: The claims of Water Supply and Sanitation Company (WSSC), Kohat, to make the city clean have been exposed as the district administration’s officials raided parts of the city and asked the tehsil municipal administration (TMA) to open choked drains and remove piles of garbage.

Also, the residents were seen throwing sludge out of drains in Garhi Risaldar and other parts of the city when nobody came from the company to do the job. The traders at Miankhel Bazaar burn garbage daily to avoid its spread on the road.

The WSSC took control from TMA eight months ago and was released initial grant of Rs40 million by the provincial government, but it has not been able yet to properly carry out its functions of ensuring cleanliness and water supply.

ADC Abbas Afridi launched the drive for opening of drains on the road near the Women’s Degree College. He also asked the handcart owners to open the nearby drains.

Similarly, the deputy commissioner visited Malangabad and Khatha Jhang areas and asked the municipal officer to bring crane for the removal of garbage.

The local people have been demanding of the authorities for a year that the major drain in front of the Jinnah Plaza should be opened and cleansed.

Bashir Khan, a businessman who runs a general store there, told this scribe that he had hired four shops on Rs30,000 rent a month, but there were no toilets and the sweeper did not come for days. Answering a question, he said that there was no dustbin in the whole market for disposal of shopping bags and garbage.

Another trader in main bazaar, Aamir Changezi, regretted that the drain was spilling dirty water but it was not being opened by WSSC.

When contacted, a WSSC official said that the company was not completely geared up for managing the whole city as staff and required machinery was yet to be procured. About the recycling plant, he said that MPA Ziaullah Bangash recently inaugurated it, but it still lacked major machines needed for its functioning.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2017