RAWALPINDI: Hundreds of Punjab Constabulary personnel who have been called in for security duty, as well as thousands of others housed at Police Lines, were without water on Saturday, and long queues of police personnel were seen outside washrooms, and running in panic carrying empty jugs and glasses in search of drinking water.

As many as 17 police reserves of 240 officials headed by a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) from the Punjab Constabulary, were called in to assist local police in maintaining peace on Yaum Shahadat Hazrat Ali, which was observed on Sunday.

These officials, in addition to the thousands of reserve personnel being housed in the barracks at Police Lines have faced an acute water shortage – particularly of drinking water – since the beginning of Ramazan.

On Saturday, the local mosque, Jamia Masjid, announced that there was no water in the mosque and people were asked to perform ablution at home before coming to the mosque.

The water shortage has been attributed to an inoperative tube well at Police Lines, which was in need of repairs. According to a resident, repairs on the tube well began at noon and were completed before Maghrib prayers.

Police personnel could be seen queuing outside the bathroom complex. An assistant sub-inspector (ASI) told Dawn: “I had to wait several hours in the queue to shower, and missed my prayers due to the mess outside the bathrooms.”

He added that the complex was built a couple of years ago, but half the water taps had either been stolen or gone missing.

“[Saturday] was no less than doomsday. The only tube well installed at Police Lines could not be operated due to a fault which was removed after efforts of over six hours,” a police official said.

When Senior Superintendent of Police Ameer Abdullah Niazi, who is responsible for maintaining housing and lodging for police officials residing in the barracks, was contacted, he did not respond.

A similar situation occurred in October 2015, when hundreds of police personnel called in for Muharram security were left without food, water or transport, due to a tussle between local police and the administration of the Sihala Police College.

As many as 1,040 police personnel (52 reserves), including trainee ASIs, sub-inspectors and recruits, were sent to Rawalpindi – in addition to 200 personnel to Chakwal and 160 to Attock – to assist the local police during Muharram.

The majority of the personnel sent to Rawalpindi had been without food, drinks or transport, since they had left Sihala.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2016