Problem Statement:
Mardan city has a drainage-cum-sewerage line of approximately 4.5 kilometers long. It has to accommodate the sanitation system of entire city. On the other side due to various reasons, the system has become unable to serve the purpose. The channel covering the main sham  si road of the city is in extreme vulnerable conditions. In addition to its vulnerability, this channel remained ignored from the authorities due to some reason. The actual length of this lane is more than 1200 meters and this channel is an open drain. About The poor drainage system in the urban areas of Mardan district has become one of the most important points of attention for the citizens.
Causes:
Due to mismanagement of solid waste lack of solid waste dumps and encroachments of shop keepers the waste moves down to drainage system and then to sewer line which cause blockage and become a major cause for spreading of various kinds of diseases.
TMA is justifying itself by unavailability of sufficient and trained sanitary staff as well as lack or unavailability of financial resources restricts TMA to take remedial measures. the secondary data of health department as well as data collected and analyzed by different CSOs shows that the ratio of water born diseases in this area is much higher as compared to other parts of the city.
Effect:
Due to blockage in drainage / sewer system the waste water flow up which effects on human health and another major effect of the blockage is the system did not accommodate the rain water which cause flood and leave a lot of effects on human health as well as damages to public property
Identification of Relevant Actors:
Tehsil municipal administration (TMA) and public health engineering department (PHED) are the departments who provide these services. Similarly Elected Representatives are the stakeholders to be engaged at various stages. TMA’s responsibility to provide services and maintenance of sewers and drains and solid waste management
Enforcement Environment:
As per the enforcement mechanism, TMA has to make arrangements for cleanliness of drains on bi-annual basis or before if required but the ground reality is totally different. As per our interaction with TMA Officials, the drains are in vulnerable conditions for the last six years and no cleanliness activity has been initiated to resolve the matter. In a meeting with Public Health Engineering Department, it was noted that in 2010, Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa allocated Rs. 190 millions as special grant for Mardan City. The amount was spent on 4 main drains, streets pavements, small sewerages and after that allocation, no allocation was made.
Major portion of the grant allocated to PHED was spent in extension of the existing sewerage/drainage system. This was special grant and the Cheif Minister granted it to PHED instead of TMA.
The TMA has not prioritized the drainage system and spent the budget available with TMA in other sectors.
Advocacy Options:
- Enforcement of TMA’s responsibility
- Advocacy for allocation of budget on annual basis
- Advocacy for solid waste management system
- Strategy Options:
- Letters to TMA Officials
- Interfaces with TMA Officials
- Letter/Meeting with DCO
- Letters/Meeting with MPA
- Different Advocacy Campaigns like Walk, District Events, Media campaign.
Setting Advocacy Goals:
- Drainage system is properly functioning and there is proper solid waste management system.
- TMA/PHED gets budget for functional drainage system on annual basis.
- TMA staff clean drains on bi-annual basis.
- Neither public raised demand for resolution of the issue nor TMA prioritized it and focused other petty issues.
Identification of Allies and Opponents:
- Allies: DGG, General public, TMA Officials, Media, PHED
- Opponents: TMA Staff, PHED,
- Implementation Advocacy Initiative:
- Advocacy campaign shall be initiated from writing letters to stakeholders, to be followed by interface meetings, letters and meetings with ERs and
- Media campaign.
- It is expected that TMA will create separate head and will allocate budget for drainage/sewerage system’s repair and maintenance.
- Sanitary workers ensure the repair and maintenance of the system and there is proper monitoring/supervision from TMA.