Summer woes: In Pindi, even posh area left wanting for water

Chaklala Scheme-III, nearby areas have only been getting water two hours a day.

RAWALPINDI: Posh areas in the garrison city of Rawalpindi have been facing acute water shortages this summer.

Residents of Chaklala Scheme-III and adjoining localities have been facing water shortage for the last one month, as the Chaklala Cantonment Board (CCB) has cut the water supply to these areas.

“Supply from the water pipeline has been cut down to only two hours a day from six hours,” said Obaidur Rehman, who has lived in Scheme-III for over 10 years.

The area is home to a number of serving and retired army officers, but that has not helped residents from being forced to either hire water tankers or rely on their own boring, he added.

Furqan Ali Khan, a retired Colonel living in Chaklala Scheme-III, said even those who have bored for water in their houses face problems during the summer. “But the situation is far worse for those who can only bank on water from the municipal authority.”

It is hard to manage with the meagre water that the CCB supplies, his wife interjected.

The situation has been aggravated by the high rates of CCB water tankers. Normally, a tanker charges between Rs400 and Rs600, but this summer, the prices have gone up to Rs1,000, said the colonel.

A senior CCB official said the situation was no different in other localities managed by the cantonment board, reasoning that increased demand and reduced supply of water in the summer are the causes.

The official said this year the problem was exacerbated by power cut at the Sangjani Filtration Plant due to non-payment of dues.

The plant treats water from Khanpur Dam. The water supply from the plant was later restored after part of the bill was paid.

Water is distributed to three civic agencies from Sangjani: Capital Development Authority, Water and Sanitation Agency and CCB, with the expenditure shared in proportion to the water consumed.

Repeated disconnections have caused shortages of water in many different areas. Moreover, most of the tube wells in CCB-controlled areas dry up in the summer, the official said.

Repeated attempts to contact CCB Executive Officer Dr Sajjad Ali and inquire about remedial measures being taken were made over many days, but he did not respond.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 11^th, 2012.