Rawalpindi’s water woes likely to worsen

Currently, city gets 59 million gallons against daily requirement of 46 million gallons

RAWALPINDI:

As the weather turns hot, residents of the garrison city are likely to face severe water shortages during Ramazan owing to the tumbling underground water level and a short supply from Rawal Dam and Khanpur Dam and 460 tube wells.

The water supply system in the city and Cantonment areas is likely to be severely affected during the holy month of Ramadan as the city's 460 tube wells, Rawal Dam and Khanpur Dam were not meeting the daily requirement.

The city is provided 59 million gallons daily against the requirement of 46 million gallons per day for a population of 1.6 million while the groundwater level has fallen to 500 feet. Water and Sanitation Agency-Managing Director Wasa Raja Shaukat Mehmood said that 460 tube wells and the water supply from Khanpur and Rawal dams could not meet the water requirement of the city and bringing water from Ghazi Barotha Dam has become inevitable. He said that water supply from Ghazi Barotha Dam was the only option to meet the water requirements of the twin cities in the long run.

He said that the citizens were not getting the water they needed for daily chores. The WAS official said that the water issue worsens with the arrival of the summer. As there is no option to meet the water requirements, city managers will have to start a project to get water from Ghazi Barotha Dam to resolve the critical issue permanently.

Around 100 million gallons per day would be available for the twin cities in the first phase from Ghazi Barotha Dam and in the second phase, the supply will be increased to 200 million gallons daily.

On the other hand, in Rawalpindi and Chaklala Cantonment Board areas, due to the gradual increase in the intensity of heat, the daily water supply has started decreasing, which is causing problems for the citizens.

On the one hand, the water supply from tube wells is also and the supply of 9 million gallons from Khanpur Dam is proving to be insufficient to meet the requirements of remote areas due to low water pressure.

In Rawalpindi Cantonment Board, Dhok Saidan, Allama Iqbal Colony Range Road, Dhok Banaras, Misrial Road, Tench Bhatta, and in Chaklala Cantonment Board, Dheri Hassan Abad, Merid Hassan, Lal Kurti and Tipu Road are facing severe water shortages. Residents of these areas said that water shortages start getting worsen with the arrival of the summer season.