The employees faced delays in receiving their salaries each month, and numerous development projects were left incomplete due to a lack of funds. Important road maintenance in the city was also postponed, causing inconvenience to the citizens.
Additionally, citizens were burdened with significantly increased water supply and sewerage bills due to a revision in the WASA tariff. The civic agency’s outstanding dues in electricity bills surged from Rs2 billion to Rs4 billion.
Amid this financial crisis, the replacement of 1,100 km-long deteriorated water and sewerage lines in the city couldn’t be addressed adequately, with only 145 km-long sewerage lines being replaced. Despite this effort, the repair of affected roads faced delays.
The city’s population, in a large part, continued to lack access to clean drinking water due to the delayed completion of the supply scheme. Corruption cases were also reported against some WASA officers related to development projects, leading to the suspension of some employees on corruption charges.
WASA consumers experienced heightened difficulties and complaints following a five-fold increase in the water supply and sewerage tariff during the year. The organization became a defaulter of the Multan Electric Power Company (MEPCO), resulting in repeated electricity supply cuts to WASA installations. MEPCO dues against WASA escalated to Rs4 billion.
Numerous ongoing projects under the Annual Development Programme faced delays, leading to severe sewage problems in urban areas. Citizens suffered from sewage accumulation in various locations, including the Timber Market, Chowk Shah Abbas, Madina Colony, and Total Pura. Despite the local residents’ appeals, urgent measures to address water supply and sewage problems were not effectively implemented.