TAXILA: Water level in Khanpur Dam has dropped drastically due to persistent dry spell.

Rocks and mounds have appeared in the lake.

A Wapda official, Irfan Khattak, told Dawn on Tuesday that water level at the dam was 1,928 above mean sea level (AMSL), which is just 18 feet higher than the dead level of 1,910 AMSL.

He said due to water supply to different civic beneficiaries of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, including cantonment board and Capital Development Authority as well as seepage, the level is decreasing by 0.10 feet per day.

He said outflow from the reservoir was 90 cusecs per day, which was much higher than the daily inflow of 50 cusecs.

“Due to prevailing low water in the dam, supply to both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab for irrigation purposes has already been suspended,” he added.

The dam authorities said the catchment area of the dam which includes Margalla Hills and Galiyat has not received enough rain, hence the situation has worsened.

The dam authorities fear they will have to curtail supply to Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

Due to prevailing dry weather, water table in Taxila and Wah has receded sharply.

Moreover, visitors and picnickers to the dam has also declined. Boatmen have abandoned their boats on the dried up surface of the lake.

Raja Javaid, a local contractor who runs many speedboats at the lake, told this reporter that the dam was no more an attraction for tourists.

“We are passing through a tough time where boating activities have reduced, causing loss to the boatman,” he added.

Mr Javaid said the boatmen had anchored their boats and started doing menial work.

Gulfam Khan, another boatman, said due to low water level, the number of visitors, tourists and picnickers to the lake had declined.

Raja Faheem, a restaurant owner who runs his business at the bank of the lake, said due to fewer tourists, his income has reduced from Rs8,000-10,000 to Rs1,000 to Rs2,000.

Irshad Ali Khan, a tourist who came for boating with his family at the lake, said they could not enjoy the thrill of boating in the dam due to little water and rocks.

Khanpur Dam is located on the Haro River which originates from Abbottabad.

It is situated near Potohar Plateau and the village of Khanpur, in KP, about 40km from Islamabad and 15km from Haripur.

The dam caters to domestic water supplies in Rawalpindi and Islamabad besides supplying water to the agricultural and industrial areas surrounding the twin cities.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2018