RAWALPINDI: Residents of cantonment areas are facing acute water shortage in the wake of suspension of supply from Khanpur Dam, and they were left with no option but to go for private tankers.

The situation went from bad to worse in areas of Chaklala Cantonment Board including Kalma Chowk, Harley Street, Tahli Mohri, Jhawara and Kamalabad as there was no tube well in the area and people relied on water supply from Khanpur Dam.

In Rawalpindi Cantonment Board, worst hit areas include Afshan Colony, Misrial Road, Allahabad, Aliabad, Dhoke Hafiz and adjoining areas.

The water supply to twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad has been suspended from Feb 1 to Feb10 due to dredging of canal from Khanpur Dam to Sangjani Filteration Plant.

The cantonment boards of Rawalpindi and Chaklala failed to provide water to a large population of the area. Some residents had stored water in their underground and rooftop water tanks but it had finished on Feb 2 and they purchased water from private tankers at the rate of Rs2,000 to Rs3,000 per tanker.

“It is acute water shortage in cantonment areas especially in Kalma Chowk as there is no tube-well. We are getting water after three days in routine but the suspension of supply from Khanpur Dam had created problems for us,” said Ahmed Raja, a resident of Kalma Chowk.

Nisar Ahmed, a resident of Kamalabad, said private tankers were cashing in on the situation and increased the rates on the pretext that they filled their tanks from outside the cantonment areas.

He said the elected representatives of CCB had failed to solve their problems including sanitation and water shortage issues.

“We are purchasing water from private tankers after two days and it put extra burden on their monthly budget,” he said.

Asghar Malik, a resident of Misrial Road, said there was a tube-well in the area but it was supplying water only to selected areas.

He said after spending millions on installation of the tube-well, the water shortage persisted in the area.

Sajid Nawaz, a resident of Tench Bhatta, said the water was main problem of their area.

He said they voted for local government members only to get the water issue solved but after five years, the problem still persisted.

He said complaints were being lodged with RCB but they were not listening to them. He said that the cantonment board should make a plan for water supply in coming days otherwise people will be left with no option but to take to street.

When contacted, RCB Cantonment Executive Officer Sibtain Raza said the civic body was working to provide water to all the residents without any discrimination but due to limited resources they could not supply water to some areas.

He said they could not meet the demand as they had less water tankers. He said people should not waste water. “We will try to provide water through water tankers,” he added.

Talking to Dawn, CCB Vice President Raja Irfan Imtiaz blamed limited tube wells for water shortage in the Chaklala Cantonment areas.

He said underground water had receded in the cantonment areas and they had few tube wells along The Mall, Askari and other areas while more than seven wards were facing water shortage.

He said the water issue had been taken up with the cantonment authorities and also kept the Military Lands and Cantonments senior officials informed about the situation.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2020