SEVERAL drains of the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) were damaged during the recent spell of the monsoon causing a huge financial loss to the agency in form of repair of the drains.

Sources in Wasa revealed that brick walls of several drains, including the College Road Drain and Samanabad Drain, fell due to the rains.

They said that improper maintenance and use of substandard construction material were the major causes for the damage, adding that the College Road Drain brick wall fell at various spots on both sides of drain while same was the case with Samanabad drain and about 1,000 feet brick wall fell in the drain. They said the damage could result in caving in of roads along the drains along with the seepage of drain water in ground. They said that this had been a regular feature of every monsoon that Wasa spent a huge amount on the repair of brick walls of various drains. They said no permanent solution was being made to save the huge expense as the agency was already in a crippling financial state.

The sources said construction of concrete walls of the drains might prevent the huge loss, which the agency was bearing every year. The agency had also placed construction material on the roads, which was very dangerous for the commuters especially at night while the material was also causing hindrance to the traffic flow on the College Road and Samanabad.

Meanwhile, a WASA spokesman said that the agency was chlorinating 181 tube-wells out of 410 while the rest of the tube-wells were getting chlorine under the gravity flow system.

On the other hand, Jaamat-e-Islami Punjab Secretary General Nazeer Ahmed strongly criticised Wasa saying that since 1967, billions had been spent on water and drainage system but every year drains inundated the provincial capital. He said Wasa officials were used to do their work only in the monsoon, which if could be done earlier could save the City from several problems. He said no arrangement had been made in the City to tackle the flood situation.