MURREE, Oct 9: As major chunk of rainwater goes down the drain at the hill station each year, Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra) has recommended various steps to store it with a view to overcoming the water shortage.

Addressing a seminar on water shortage and its solution, Erra director general Zaheer Hussain Gardezi said if the rainwater was adequately stored it could minimise water shortage the tourist resort faced in December.

He told the seminar that Erra was planning to start a number of small scale projects in this regard including placing water tank with downpipe and building small dams.

Mr. Gardezi said the rainwater storage system has already been working in 20 union councils of Azad Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and now it was being launched in Murree.

He said that to create awareness of storing rainwater, seminars and training workshops would be held in Murree, especially in rural areas.

The hill station has been facing severe water shortage in summer for the last many years.

The Pervaiz Elahi government had launched Neelum-Jehlum Bulk Water Supply Scheme with an estimated cost of Rs5 billion but it was stopped by the Shahbaz Sharif government, though Rs3 billion had already been spent on the project. He declared the project costly.

A notable of the area Javed Satti took the issue to Lahore High Court Rawalpindi bench which gave decision in his favour, but work on the project is yet to be resumed.—Correspondent