RAWALPINDI: In the scorching heat, the residents of the garrison city are facing an acute water shortage as complaints are being received from different parts of the city and cantonment areas.

The residents said the authorities concerned daily supplied water only for 15 minutes in the sultry weather. They said if such a situation had arisen at the start of the summer what would be the state of affairs in June and July.

Safdar Khan, a resident of Purana Qila, said the entire area was facing water shortage and people were forced to fetch water from nearby areas.

Abdul Rasheed, of Allahabad, said he had informed RCB officials about the issue but they took no action. He said the entire locality, even the commercial outlets, were without water.

Official says shortage caused by rising demand in summer

Mehmood Siddiqui, a resident of Kamalabad, said they were without water for the last three days and the CCB officials had turned a blind eye to the problem.

He said despite complaints lodged with the cantonment board, water supply to the area had not been restored. He said the residents tried to contact senior officials but they were not available.

Malik Riasat, a resident of Misrial Road, said their daily chores remained incomplete due to unavailability of water. He said they had to hire private tanker at Rs2,000 to meet the water shortage.

RCB spokesman Qaiser Mehmood was not available to comment. However, a senior official said there was a gab between demand and supply as the demand increase in the hot weather. He said the issue would be resolved in coming days as the duration of tubewells’ operation was being increased.

On the other hand, CCB elected member Raja Irfan Imtiaz said that tubewells in Chaklala had gone dry and the supply from Khanpur Dam was not enough to meet the requirement of the residents.

He said the pressure of water supply from Khanpur Dam was too low and it could not reach the thickly-populated areas. He said in the 1,000-metre-long line the supply of water without a pumping machine was not possible.

He said PML-N elected members were planning to meet the federal government to get the problem resolved as soon as possible because the PTI government had failed to take any step solve the water issue in cantonment areas in last three and half years.

“Due to negligence of the former PTI government, people in cantonment areas are still facing water shortage. Water shortage is the main issue in cantonment areas because groundwater level has gone down and the only solution is supply from the dam,” he said.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2022