Water shortage: CDA releases funds to improve water supply lines

Sohan Interchange set to open for traffic next month, tenders for Koral Chowk to Rawat to be called

ISLAMABAD: As the capital goes dry with water scarce, the municipal administration of the capital has released a special tranche of funds to provide water to the residents.

However, these funds will be used to ferry water during the upcoming summer season, not during the ongoing winter season.

With the water crunch expected to increase manifold in the summer, the mayor said that the funds will be used for repairs and maintenance work on 10 water tankers, water pipes and replacing tyres of these tankers. Moreover, 3,600 feet of water pipes have been purchased for the tankers which have been installed in 28 water tankers.

Mayor of Islamabad and Capital Development Authority (CDA) Chairman Sheikh Anser Aziz said that they were addressing the current crisis by supplying water using 17 of the 34 water tankers of the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) Water Supply Wing.

He added that the IMC was using its own resources to repair and maintain the tankers from the Machinery Pool Organization (MPO). He further said that the remaining water tankers would start working after they are repaired by the MPO Directorate.

Apart from the tankers, Aziz said that main 36-inch water supply line had been repaired near the Quaid-i-Azam University. Similarly, a 10-inch water supply pipeline had also been repaired to resolve the longstanding water supply problem faced by residents of Sector G-10.

Explaining the situation, the mayor said that that water levels in the Simly Dam were currently at 2,285 feet (capacity is 2,315 feet) due to fewer rains. The dam was supplying 24 million gallons of water per day to the city. A further 24 million gallons of water per day was being supplied from tube wells and other sources.

Thus the concerned department was told to use the existing water stores with better management and to take stern action against illegal water connections.

In this regard, he said that the Water Supply Wing asked the Enforcement Directorate and the Building Control Section to take action against 25 illegal service stations operating in Sectors G-9, G-8, G-7, I-10, G-10 and I-9 after several notices were issued to them. These illegal service stations were using the portable water for servicing vehicles.

Sohan interchange to open next month

The CDA has announced that Sohan Interchange would be opened next month while initial planning for the second phase of the signal-free corridor from Koral Chowk to Rawat has been completed with tenders expected to be called the next month.

According to a statement issued by the CDA on Tuesday, the civic body clarified that after completing the Koral and Sector I-8 Interchanges — under the first phase of the Islamabad Expressway Signal-Free Corridor, the Sohan Interchange would be opened.

Once it opens, the Islamabad Expressway will be practically signal-free from Zero Point up to Koral Chowk. Apart from the interchanges, construction of a four-lane road from the Koral Interchange to Naval Enclave and construction of service road west was also part of the Islamabad Signal-Free Expressway project.

“Technical and financial bids are being sought from reputable construction firms and companies,” the authority said adding that the recent sit-ins at Faizabad had impeded the pace of work on the project.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 27^th, 2017.