RAWALPINDI: Residents of the garrison city have been faced with increased and unannounced electricity as well as low voltage supply.

Due to the low voltage supply of electricity, various areas in Rawalpindi are also experiencing a shortage of water as tube well operators have shut down the machines lest they develop faults.

Residents have lodged complaints about the shortage of water though the Rawalpindi and Chaklala Cantonments boards and the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) have not yet responded to the numerous complaints.

The areas which are particularly affected by loadshedding and shortage of water include Ratta Amal, Railway Workshop Road, Chaklala, Fazal Town, Chaudhry Bostan Khan Road, Nayyar Colony, Gulistan Colony, Westridge, Misrial Road, Saidpur Road, Asghar Mall Scheme, Satellite Town, Murree Road and other nearby localities.

“Electricity and water are the two major requirements during Ramazan, which the government is not providing. Nawaz Sharif and other PML-N leaders do not understand the problems of the common man. He went abroad for getting medical treatment and his children are doing business abroad, why will they want to improve the infrastructure of this country,” said Mohammad Riaz, a resident of Sarafa Bazaar.

Gas is not available in the winters and water and electricity in the summers, he said.

“We had to go and fill water from other areas while fasting while the rulers are enjoying a life of luxury,” he added.

A resident of Murree Road, Mohammad Safdar, said the refrigerator at his home had developed faults due to low voltage.

“The water pump has not been working for two days due to low voltage and we have had to fetch water from a nearby well using a hand pump,” he said.

Another resident of the garrison city, Murtaza Bashir said the government should impose a ban on decorative and excessive lighting in markets and bazaars.

“Traders and shopkeepers are wasting electricity while people are facing a shortage of electricity during Ramazan,’ he said. He suggested markets be closed at 10pm in order to save electricity.

When asked Wasa Managing Director Raja Shaukat Mehmood said frequent interruptions in power supply and low voltage were the reasons for the disruption in water supply in some areas of the garrison city.

“Tube wells and other machines will not operate with low voltage electricity but we are trying to facilitate people by offering tanker services,” he said.

Mr Mehmood added that there was enough water in dams and that the tube wells in the garrison city were also in working water. However, the water cannot be supplied if there is no power. He said the agency had installed generators in some areas and is also trying to get another power line in order to get the tube wells working.

When contacted, the superintendent engineer Rawalpindi Circle, at the Islamabad Electric Supply Company, said that the demand for electricity had increased with the increase in temperature.

“Air conditioners have been installed in all mosques and markets which are kept working all through the day which is the reason for the widening gap between demand and supply,” he explained.

“The underground electricity supply lines along the metro bus elevated road from Marrir Chowk have also created problems and have shut down supply to many areas along Murree Road. It is difficult to find and repair faults in underground supply lines,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2016