NALA Leh has been running through Rawalpindi since the city came into existence. It has devoured many precious human lives during heavy monsoon.

In the 1980s, the then mayor declared that Rawalpindi would be transformed into Paris. He ordered a dredging and cleaning not only of Leh but all other water channels running through cities andfalling into the canal. Billions of rupees were spent on these works, but despite all these ef forts, Leh proved too strong for the mayor and his team to control and eliminate the danger.

Now the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) performs this dredging and cleaning work every year before monsoon.

But owing to the filling of water channels with garbage filth, and the human waste thrown by the residents living along these streams, it has become impossible for Wasa to cope with the situation.

The monsoons come and go, damaging property, while Wasa only pledges to keep it clean. One wonders why Wasa officials conduct these operations only before rainfall, while they draw salaries throughout the year. Moreover, why cannot people resist throwing their waste and garbage into water channels? Why does Wasa fail to draw a permanent plan either by diverting these streams to safer areas or by digging them deep and covering them with concrete slabs? Raja ShafaatUllah Islamabad