ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, the main opposition in the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI), gave the PML-N and the city’s mayor a difficult time on Wednesday, boycotting the MCI session and protesting in G-9 over the water shortage in the capital’s sectors.

The entire Islamabad area requires 211 million gallons of water daily, and the CDA is providing 53 MGD – this gap widens at the height of the summer.

After a blistering speech by opposition leader, PTI boycotted the MCI session on Wednesday, saying the corporation has failed to resolve issues facing citizens, particularly the water issue.

Opposition leader Ali Awan said various sectors in the city are facing an acute water shortage, and claimed a family in G-10 had to bathe a dead body using mineral water.

CADD minister, mayor claim scale of water shortage has been exaggerated

When asked why the residents in question did not hire a water tanker and used mineral water, Mr Awan told Dawn: “Because of the time constraint, people had to bathe the deceased with mineral water, as getting water from a tanker is also a cumbersome process.”

Mr Awan told the session that the MCI has passed various resolutions over the last year, only to forget them.

“We can’t sign the minutes of the previous session’s meeting as there is no implementation of the decisions the house has been taking,” he said, before announcing a boycott of the session with other members of the PTI who carried placards stating their demands.

While boycotting the session, they chanted: “Give us our human rights, provide us water, water.”

Mr Awan also noted that the government did not release the MCI’s development and non-development budgets.

The PTI later protested the water shortage in G-9 Markaz, and the demonstration was attended by MNA Asad Umar as well as local leaders and activists. The party had initially announced plans to hold a rally from G-9 to the CDA offices, but was not permitted to do so by the district administration.

In a hastily-called press conference at the CDA offices, Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and Mayor Sheikh Ansar Aziz argued that the extent of the water shortage is not what the PTI has claimed.

Dr Chaudhry said the city’s sector areas require 70 MGD and are supplied 53 MGD. He added that steps are being taken to improve the water supply in Islamabad, with around Rs50 million being allocated for tubewell repairs and controlling water leaks. The minister said that in order to cope with the emergency situation, 30 MCI water tankers are already on the roads to provide citizens with water.

“The city is facing a shortage of 12 MGD of water, mainly because of the fall in water levels in the Simly and Khanpur dams,” he said, adding that 60 out of 190 tubewells are non-functional.

The minister said the government is working on the Ghazi Barotha project as a long term solution to the water crisis, which would provide each citizen of Rawalpindi and Islamabad 100 MGD each.

In response to the press conference, PTI MNA Asad Umar told the media that the PTI had raised the water shortage issue but the CADD minister had termed it negative politics by the PTI.

He said the CADD minister had himself agreed that the city areas require 150 MGD while the MCI is supplying 53 MGD.

Mr Umar added that the minister had agreed that water tankers and tubewells are out of order, and directed the PTI opposition leader to take the matter up with the mayor on Thursday, in light of Wednesday’s press conference. Announcing the postponement of their protest, he said: “If they are going to resolve this issue we will welcome them.”

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2017