Rawalpindi’s Summer’s Water Shortage

News Desk

ISLAMABAD: Rawalpindi is facing a water shortage as the city’s groundwater level continues to deplete amid scorching heat. The water crisis also increased due to water shortages at Rawal and Khanpur dams.

In a small public survey, Penpk.com learned that many areas of Garrison City are facing water shortages due to the depleting groundwater level and interrupted supply from nearby water dams.

Following the water situation, residents of Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) and Chaklala Cantonment Board (CCB) have been affected the most.  Naseem Farhat, a resident of Tench Bhatta, said the RCB was supplying water on an alternative basis, but for the past few months, we have been getting half the quantity of water every 4th to 5th day.

Raising concern over the growing water crisis, Tanveer Ahmed, a resident of Fazal Town, said the local water supply company has stopped supplying water in his area. He said, “We [residents] are forced to purchase water tankers, which are costly, as the authority concerned has stopped supplying water in the town.

Furthermore, the residents of Satellite Town, Sadiqabad, Khayaban-e-Sir Syed, Fauji Colony, Naseerabad, Shakriyal, Khanna, Ghauri Town, Gulzar-e-Quaid, Airport Housing Society, Gulraiz-I and II, Dhoke Chaudhrian, Dhoke Munshi, Ghareebabad, and Jhanda Chichi are facing an acute water shortage. Residents of these areas have demanded that the government take effective measures to permanently solve the problem of water shortages in Rawalpindi.

When contacted by the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), an official said that the water supply from Khanpur and Rawal dams has fallen due to the insufficient amount of water in the dams. Garrison city needs about 60 million gallons of water per day whereas only 45 million gallons are supplied daily.

According to the official, one of the main reasons behind this shortfall is a power outage, which bars the authority from turning on the 460 tube-wells to add additional gallons of water.

Moreover, sources in the Ministry of Water Resources said that Tarbela Dam, Mangla Dam, and Chashma Barrage have reached a dead level, which would worsen the water scarcity.