Residents continue to face acute shortage of water

Say authorities have done little to address concerns of the people

ISLAMABAD: Water, for the residents of Islamabad is becoming a precious commodity; the residents of F-6, G-6, G-7 and I-10 are facing acute shortage of potable water. Despite repeated requests the authorities concerned have failed to resolve their genuine grievance. Residents of the capital have accused the authorities concerned of being indifferent to their problems and have paid no heed to their repeated requests.



With the reduced supply of water in the city, residents are forced to budget their water consumption and outsource it from private suppliers. A resident of F-6 Mohsin Iftikhar, said that irregular and inadequate water supply has affected the daily life of thousands of families. “We cannot afford costly water tankers daily, but we have no other option,” said another resident Bilal Malik. The residents pay water bills regularly to the CDA, but its supply is not being ensured, he added. The residents urged the authorities to take steps for regular supply of water to the locality.

A housewife Shamsa Anwar said, we have not been receiving water for the last three months. Despite registering complaints, the problem still persists”, adding that water shortage had made their lives miserable during this scorching hot weather. “The pressure of the water is such that even a glass takes several hours to get filled” said, a local resident. Adnan Tahir resident G-7 said that they have been facing water shortage for the past many days and are left with no choice but to buy water at Rs700 to Rs1,000 per tanker. When contacted an official of CDA, said that due to summer season the demand of water has increased in different sectors. He appealed to the residents of capital city to avoid misuse of water and warned strict action in case of violation of CDA instruction.



Though water shortages have become a permanent headache for the residents of Islamabad, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has been ignoring its backup water tanker service.

Residents of the capital have accused the authorities concerned of being indifferent to their problems and have paid no heed to their repeated requests.

Attributing the shortage of water in Islamabad and Rawalpindi to nonpayment of outstanding dues, the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) has told the apex court that the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) and the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) owe it Rs8.6 billion.

The MCI has submitted a report to the Supreme Court through Additional Attorney General Nayyar Rizvi in a suo motu case regarding the shortage of water in the twin cities. The report says the main reason for poor management of water supply schemes in the cities is nonpayment by government institutions.

Highlighting the issues related to water shortage, the report reveals that the RCB and WASA Rawalpindi are the main defaulters of the MCI and they owe the MCI almost Rs8.6 billion.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 8^th, 2018.