LAHORE: Delay in the approval of major Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) schemes, including the replacement of the trunk sewer line at Khayaban-i-Firdausi in Johar Town, has created serious risks for motorists.

Recently, the traffic police closed Khayaban-i-Firdausi (LDA Complex to Shaukat Khanum intersection) for a couple of days after another depressionappeared, caused by the rupture of the aging sewer line. The closure forced commuters to take lengthy alternate routes.

`You cannot imagine the fear we feel while traveling on Khayaban-i-Jinnah daily. A sinkhole or depression could appear at any time,` said a resident of Wapda Town. He added that several accidents had occurred in the area due to sudden sinkholes. `Some time ago, three people in a vehicle fell into a major sinkhole. They were injured and suffered massive losses to their vehicle. It`s hightime the government intervened and addressed this issue,` he demanded.

Wasa Managing Director Ghufran Ahmad earlier said that the government had approved 25 development schemes for replacing old sewer lines in Lahore under the Annual Development Programme 2024-25. While PC-1 documents for 23 schemes were approved, those for three key projects-including the Khayaban-iFirdausi trunk sewer-remain pending.

The managing director was unavailable for comments, but a senior Wasa officialconfirmed that the Johar Town project was recently approved in principle during a meeting at the Planning and Development (P&D) Department.

`Once the meeting minutes are signed, administrative approval will be granted, followed by fund allocation and release.

Only then can tenders be floated. This process might take another two to three months before civil work begins,` the official explained. He revealed that efforts to secure approvalforthisproject hadbeen ongoingsince 2018.