Peshawar’s Urbanization Woes: Can The City Strike A Balance?

APP

Peshawar: About 60 percent of infant and child deaths are caused by diarrhoea, while the cholera fatality rate is 25-5 percent, and every 16 minutes, a person dies of hepatitis, mostly due to drinking unsafe water in Pakistan, informed Pabbi Nowshera Government Hospital Senior Medical Officer Dr Malik Riaz Khan.

The proportion of Pakistanis living in urban areas has increased substantially, from 17.7 per cent of the population in 1951 to 36.4 per cent in 2017 which created challenges of unmanaged urbanisation and a poor sewerage system.

Dr Riaz referred to a UNICEF research study mentioning that one driver of the water and sanitation challenges (WASC) is the rapid growth in population. Pakistan is the 6th most populous country in the world with 2 per cent annual growth.

Investments in water and sanitation services are barely keeping pace in the wake of rapid population growth and city extension.

The scene is not very difficult to comprehend as the sewage channels were clogged and filled with foul-smelling slush flushed out from houses in the densely populated area of Peshawar, while the poor sewerage system had exposed its residents to fatal waterborne diseases.

The overflow of sewerage channels is caused by rapid urbanization, especially in overpopulated areas in the interior city, including Shahdhand, Ganj and Kohati which are mostly inhibited by low-income people.

The locality of Shahdhand, which was adjacent to the somewhat beautiful, planned, and affordable locality of the provincial metropolis of Gulbahar, is considered unsuitable for living due to the huge excavation of mud that was procured for the brick kiln situated on Phandu and Kohat roads.

The rapid urbanisation due to the massive influx from suburban areas of the city led to a multitude of problems, including sewerage issues linked to numerous health hazards.

When we acquired a house on rent in Shahdh and a few years ago, it was less populated and the living environment was far better as compared to the present situation which adversely affects its inhabitants owing to the overflow of drainage water channels and the bad smell everywhere in the streets, said Meraj Yousaf, an estate agencyemployee.

The situation has changed completely since the area became overpopulated due to an influx of people from suburban localities, including erstwhile Fata and other tribal districts, who made Peshawar their abode to find employment, schools and colleges, healthcare services, and seek better economic opportunities for their loved ones, Meraj added.

The main problem in our locality is continuously deteriorating sanitation conditions due to massive urbanization and inadequate sanitation services. Yousaf told that the rusted water pipes at Gunj, Kohati, Sikandar Town, Deh Bahadur, Nauthia Qadeem, and Nauthia Jadeed exposed Peshawarties to waterborne diseases and demanded their immediate replacement.

Poor sanitation and contaminated water caused by urbanisation lead to different waterborne diseases, including diarrhoea, typhoid fever, cholera, dysentery, and hepatitis A, that may prove fatal, especially for children and elderly citizens, said Dr Malik.

The Water and Sanitation for Urban Poor (WSUP) study has revealed that Pakistan was expected to have 15 cities with a population of over one million within the next 15 years. Moreover, by 2030, it is estimated that Karachi and Lahore’s populations would reach approximately 28 and 15 million, respectively, with challenges of water sanitation and sewerage systems.

Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (WSSP) Spokesman Hassan Khansaid the high-rise buildings lack sewerage mechanisms that cause overflow of water in street water channels, besides the entrance of flood water in houses.

Hassan further stated that encroachment in water channels was another form of rapid and unplanned urbanization creating sewerage problems, adding that the encroachment appears slowly with an imperceptible pace, disturbing the already disjointed infrastructure of sewerage and leading to a variety of problems.

Rural Development Caretaker Minister Sawal Nazir Khan informed that the KP Cities Improvement Project (KPCIP) has been launched to provide clean drinking water, a congenial environment, and quality sewerage services to people.

KPCIP is aimed at redesigning and reconstructing the existing dilapidated drainage system that would significantly improve the management of sewerage and stormwater and prevent flooding in the cities of KP, stated Nazir Khan.

The government of KP, with the financial assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Asian Investment and Infrastructure Bank, is executing multiple projects, including KPCIP, in the five divisional headquarters of Peshawar, Mardan, Mingora, Abbottabad and Kohat, to modernise municipal services.

Sawal Nazir said the projects would focus on treating wastewater, utilizing it for irrigation purposes, or returning it to water bodies. Under the project, the rehabilitation of the British-era Lady Garden on modern lines will create a climate change-resilient environment and promote the well-being of the community.

Over 3.5 million people will benefit from improved access to clean water, reliable waste management and sanitation services, green urban spaces, and gender-friendly facilities.

An integrated waste management system would be established in big cities to ensure collection, safe transportation, segregation, and scientific disposal of waste in a sanitary landfill cell, besides covering wastewater channels, added Caretaker Minister.

The projects will involve the installation of flow meters and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems to ensure water quality and better sanitation services.

Khan mentioned that the existing rusted pipes would be replaced with leak-proof water supply lines, addressing the issue of water leakage.

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