HARIPUR: The local residents have called for restoring the water supply schemes built during the British-era to overcome water shortage in Haripur city and provide them with fresh water of natural springs.

The potable water supply project of the British-era is still intact in Haripur even after the passage of over one and a half-century and can help cater to the future needs of the residents if the authorities make a little investment to restore the infrastructure, the residents told Dawn on Wednesday.

Different urban localities, including Mohallah Khoo, Mohallah Risaldariyan, Mohallah Chowki Police, Mohallah Malik Pura, Mohallah Motiyan, and a couple of other small localities have still the water supply system that the British installed from 1880 to 1901.

Say little investment needed to supply fresh spring water to the city

According to official record and elders when the British took over the control of Haripur, once a garrison city of Khalsaji Sarkar or Sikh rule under Hari Singh Nalva, they were inspired by the irrigation-cum-sanitation system of Sikhs.

For meeting the potable water needs of the growing population of Haripur, they constructed a couple of small ponds very close to the natural springs (locally known as chohas) in Thanda Choha village in Shah Maqsood union council, and diverted the perennial source of fresh water of these over six small chohas into them.

The British laid water supply lines of six-inch diameter directly from the ponds to different localities, from where the residents got water without using electric pumps as the springs were located a little higher than rest of the city.

The natural springs located at a distance of four kilometers from the main city still serve as a major source of potable water to the neighbouring localities and for agriculture use.

During summer the picnickers throng these springs and enjoy the cool fresh water whose source is not yet known.

“My father who lived for a 100 years used to tell us that cold fresh water oozed out of these springs since the time immemorial,” Iqbal, a resident of Thanda Choha village, said.

Mohammad Safdar, another resident of the urban locality, said the system was so perfect that water supply to the localities never suspended for a single day. He said pipelines in some areas were still intact.

“Although we have dozens of tubewells and bores in the city the taste of Thanda Choha fresh water is matchless,” Mohammad Afzal, a resident of Mohallah Chowki Police, said.

“He said since supplying water to each house was not economically feasible the British installed lion head fountains at the central point of each locality from where people fetched water.

“There used to be long queues of women and children around the fountains from early morning till evening,” resident Mohammad Nawaz said, adding with passage of time the fountains disappeared as people got installed taps in their homes.

He said only a few public tops were still intact in the city but without water as the TMA had disconnected the main connection to them.

Resident Fiaz Ahmed said the government should restore the old water supply line to meet the water needs of people. He said gravity flow system could also be applied for supply of water from the chohas.

When contacted, tehsil officer taxation Abrar Alvi told Dawn that a project of restoring water supply from Thanda Choha was under study as it required small funding.

He said once the water supply network was restored it would be enough for meeting the needs of residents for next two decades.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2021