Provincial Minister for Literacy and Non-Formal Education Raja Rashid Hafeez and Chairman Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) Rawalpindi Asif Mehmood inaugurated PHA’s rainwater harvesting project here on Saturday.
While talking to the participants during the ceremony, he stated that the construction work of the first underground water tank having a storage capacity of about 100,000 gallons which was part of the rainwater harvesting system project costing Rs 50 million, has been accomplished in Rawal Park.
PHA Rawalpindi executed the project with the purpose to reduce the use of clean water in parks, he added.
He further said that with the help of the project the authority would be able to collect rainwater in different parks of Rawalpindi city, consequently helping for irrigation purposes in parks and other plantation sites of the metropolitan.
Read more: First rainwater storage tank with 100,000 gallons capacity completed in Rawal Park
Moreover, water supply systems would also be implemented in the parks in addition to constructing water filling stations for filling water tankers, he said. “The second such tank is under construction at Liaquat Bagh while two others would be built in Commercial Market and Allama Iqbal Park.”
“All four tanks would have a capacity of over 310,000 gallons. The subterranean water tanks were built as part of this environmentally beneficial project to conserve rainfall,” he added.
The project would enable to save clean water being used for irrigation proposes, he continued.
The chairman told the ceremony that PHA Rawalpindi was installing a rainwater harvesting system to decrease the usage of clean water, adding that with the arrival of the summer season the use of water would be increased and this project would help overcome the water needs.
During the second phase, more similar projects would be initiated in all major parks of the Rawalpindi city which would help fulfill water disputes, the PHA chairman vowed.
Besides, the occasion was also attended by Vice Chairman, PHA, Rwp Malik Abid Mehmood, Vice Chairman WASA, Haroon Hashmi, Director General PHA, Zaheer Anwar Jappa, Member Board Muslim Shahzad, and other officers of the authority.
