Rawalpindi faces acute water shortage

With the rise in temperatures, the water shortage has intensified in various parts of the garrison city as the groundwater level has plummeted while the water supply from Rawal and Khanpur dams has also been slashed amidst high consumption of the vital commodity.

Residents of various areas including Mubarak Line, Munawar Colony, Dhoke Jumma, Ghakar Street Mehmoodabad at Adiala Road and its adjoining areas said that the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) has failed to arrange an alternative to cope with the water shortage.

Locals namely Rizwan Chatta, Zahoor, Adalat, Rab Nawaz, Ghulam Abbas, Riaz, Fayyaz, Said Rasool, Ali Nawaz, Shakeel Ahmed, Sheikh Tasleem, Muhammad Javed, Muhammad Aslam, Muhammad Akram, Wasiq Razzak and Sajjad Sadiq showed their grievances and asked the quarters concerned to intervene to ensure uninterrupted water supply on a priority basis.

The residents said they would stage a protest if they were not provided with an uninterrupted water supply. One of the complainants, Inam Ullah, said that there was no pipeline in his street while the adjoining streets were getting proper water which was unjustified. Another complainant said, "We have to fetch water from far-flung areas to meet the daily needs. We can't afford a water tanker that is costly and unaffordable and we have to pay Rs2,000 to buy water from private water tankers," he added.

The residents of the area demanded to ensure regular supply of water during the hot summer season. The area tube-well operator said that the residents should approach and asked officials concerned to lay down the pipeline in the area, after that the issue would be resolved.

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An official of WASA said that the agency was working on a plan to cope with the issue. He said the WASA had already initiated to lay down water pipelines in different areas of Adiala Road including Kehkashan Colony, Munawar Colony, Dhama Syedan, Sanjoli Street, Bank Colony, Hill View Lane, Sadiq Town, Jarahi, and Janjua Town to provide pure drinking water round the clock at the cost of Rs400 million.

Some other areas including Khayaban-e-Sir Syed, Pirwadhai, Hazara Colony, Dhok Rata, Shakrial, Dhok Khabba, Tench, Misryal Road, Chakra, Dhamiyal, Dhok Chaudhariyan, Dhok Syedan, Dhok Banaras, Range Road, Katarian, Sadiqabad, Gawalmandi, Scheme III, Gulistan Colony, Lalarukh Colony, Gharibabad, Rahimabad and Railway Scheme, are facing serious water shortage. According to experts, groundwater level has gone down around 750 feet while several tube wells have dried up because of fewer rains. They said that construction of the Daducha and Ghazi Barotha dams must be completed immediately to deal with the serious water shortage.

Additional input from APP

Published in The Express Tribune, May 9^th, 2022.