In order to permanently address the escalating water crisis in the Rawalpindi district, the government has decided to immediately begin construction on six new mini dams and a major water supply project that will supply water to all villages from Chahan Dam to Adiala Road.
Sources said the entire cost of the massive project would be Rs17.7 billion. Additionally, a mini-dam has received final approval for the new tourist district of Murree. A new modern park will also be constructed on this tourist attraction at Rs1 billion. Work on this project will start next year.
Initial construction has started on the Mujahid Dam, which will be constructed near Chauntra, a Rawalpindi suburb, at Rs700 million and will irrigate 7,000 acres of land.
Papin Dam has been planned in the Chak Bali Khan area which will be constructed at Rs5 billion. It will be a large dam comparable in size to the Rawal Dam. After selecting a suitable location, the government also acquired the land for the project.
Mahota Dam will be constructed in the Union Council Raika area. It is a natural dam-shaped land. This will irrigate 5,500 acres of land and the project would cost Rs500 million.
The water of the large Chahan Dam in Rawalpindi cannot be used in households. Therefore, it has now been decided to utilise its water after getting it filtered through a filtration plant.
A water pipeline will be laid from the dam to Adiala Road, Dhok Sayedan and nearby areas and a large overhead tank will be built.
The water supply scheme has been updated as part of this amendment project, and the Chahan Dam will now provide the suburbs and cantonment regions of Rawalpindi with 12 million gallons of water per day rather than just six million.
The Chahan Dam water supply scheme will cost Rs6 billion and it has also been decided to start the construction work on the delayed Dadocha Dam. Orders have been issued to remove all kinds of hurdles.
The underground water level has already gone down to 600 feet and is increasing steadily. RDA Chairman Tariq Murtaza said a tube well is not a permanent solution to any problem.
“Now that the water crisis has been resolved, we must switch to using river water in dams rather than underground water.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 27th, 2022.
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