Pindi, Chaklala cantonments to get extra water

Rs17.4m allocated in PSDP budget for upcoming fiscal year to provide clean water in from Khanpur Dam

RAWALPINDI:

An amount of Rs17.4 million has been allocated in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) budget for the upcoming fiscal year to provide clean water in the cantonment areas of Rawalpindi and Chaklala from the Khanpur Dam.

The project, which had been approved by the Central Working Development Party in July 2017, has so far witnessed an expenditure of Rs845 million. Another Rs35 million will be transferred in the next fiscal year.

The federal government has also allocated Rs17.4 million for this project for the next year. The total cost of the project is Rs885 million.

Under the project, the cantonment boards in Rawalpindi and Chaklala will get additional water on a daily basis.

Before this project, the two cantonment boards were provided six million gallons of water daily, which was insufficient. The additional three million gallons are expected to address the water shortage concerns of the residents of the two cantonments.

Rains fill the dams but the people living in the cantonment continue to face shortages due to the indifferent attitude of the boards, said one resident.

Another said that the requirement for water increases in summers but the issue remains unresolved.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 11^th, 2023.