PESHAWAR: Water and Sanitation Services Company Mardan has planned to launch a programme to ensure provision of clean drinking water to people and proper disposal of solid waste in the district.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Nasir Ghafoor, the chief executive officer of WSSCM, said that the company had proposed three different projects, which would be initiated with financial assistance of Asian Development Bank in the district.

Flanked by Mohammad Faig Shah, the chairman of the company`s board of directors, Mardan Tehsil Nazim Mohammad Ayub Khan, BoD member Samiullah and other officials, he said provision of clean drinking water, conducting laboratory tests of drinking water and replacement of obsolete pipelines were priorities of the company.

Mr Ghafoor said that there were 36 tubewells in the district but only 22 were operational. Similarly, of the 11 overhead water tanks, only eight were operational, he said. He added that certain areas could not get water owing to absence of distribution network.

The WSSCM chief demanded of the provincial government to allocate additional Rs1.7 billion as seed money to the company so that essential schemes like provision of water and sanitary landfill sites could be executed on the pattern of Water and Sanitation Services Company Peshawar.He said that WSSCM generated Rs0.2million by carrying out fumigation on request of private companies during the ongoing anti-dengue drive. He said that steps would be taken to increase revenue of the company.

Mr Ghafoor said that the company had so far removed 23,900 tonnes of solid waste besides de-silting about 80.5 kilometres drains. He said that fumigation machinery was procured and extensive fumigation was carried out in the limits of WSSCM since March 2017.

He said that daily garbage generation in the limits of WSSCM was 300 tonnes. He said that TMA was collecting and disposing 40 to 45 tonnes garbage per day while WSSCM was collecting and disposing about110 to120 tonnesgarbage daily. He said that the target could be met when the company got the required resources.

The WSSCM chief said that the company was mandated to conduct its operational activities in more than 14 union councils in Mardan. He said that WSSCM had taken over the water and sanitation sector on December 1, 2016 and got applause from the locals, especially during Eidul Azha when sanitary staff made strenuous efforts to remove remains of sacrificial animals.

Mr Ghafoor said that transparency was being ensured in recruitments process in the company so that competent people could be inducted to ensure success of the civic body. He said that entire infrastructure including offices and equipments of Mardan TMA needed to be replaced.

Mohammad Ayub Khan, Mohammad Faig Shah and Samiullah Khan also spoke on the occasion and asked people from different walks of life to join hands to overcome civic problems in the district.