The Punjab government has decided to levy fees on water supply and sanitation services in Rawalpindi. The first phase of a survey has been completed under the Punjab Intermediate City Improvement Programme.
The Punjab Urban Development Projects (PUDP) has completed the first phase of the survey. The method for determining the fee would finalised in the second phase. Sources in PUDP told The Express Tribune that the project was initially started in Sahiwal and Sialkot on the chief minister’s orders.
The second phase of the programme will include Rawalpindi, Sargodha, DG Khan, Multan, Bahawalpur, and Rahim Yar Khan.
The provincial government will collect fees from the citizens against facilities of water and sanitation to make the related institutions independent and self-sufficient.
Scholars, business community, teachers, journalists, social workers, government employees, and people from different walks of life took part in the survey. Officials said that the daily water requirement in Rawalpindi has increased to 64 million gallons of water (MGD) while the water supply from Rawal Dam, Khanpur Dam, and underground tube wells is only 51 MGD.
The officials said the Punjab government buys water at the rate of Rs16 per 1,000 litres from Rawal Dam while 1,000 litres of water from tube wells costs the government Rs154. There are 162 water filtration plants run by Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) from where the citizens get free water. Owing to the financial crunch, some 200 tube wells are dysfunctional in Rawalpindi while construction work on Daducha dam has also been stopped. These institutions also do not have the resources to pay salaries to employees.
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Sources said that the only way to address the financial crisis is to charge citizens for water and develop fresh water resources.
Water shortage grips Chaklala Cantonment area
The residents of areas along Sarwar Road are longing for water as the branch lines have not been connected with the mainline.
Locals near Chaklala Cantonment Board (CCB) office are forced to hire water tankers to meet their needs. The main water supply line passing through Sarwar Road was completely impaired, after which MES started work for replacing it three weeks ago.
Owing to the disconnection between the mainline and branches, the residential areas, including Sarwar Road and Sir Syed Road from Panj Sarki to Marrier Hasan Chowk, couldn’t get water. Interestingly, CCB didn’t arrange any water tanker supply system for the residents during the supply cut period.
The cantonment board completed the installation of the mainline last week, but it didn’t connect the branch lines with the alternative source. The citizens are being charged by up to Rs1,000 for the water tankers, which originally is the responsibility of the cantonment board under the public supply system.
Regarding restoration of water supply, the locals said that the cantonment officials reply them that water transfer would restart once the mainline would be connected with branch lines.
The CCB has also left the citizens in the lurch and it has excused from supplying water tankers for free.
CCB Assistant secretary was contacted multiple times for his comments on the issue, but he could not be reached.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 12th, 2021.
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