RAWALPINDI: Water supply from Khanpur Dam was restored to the twin cities on Wednesday night after desilting of the 18km-long canal stretching from the dam to Sangjani water treatment plant was completed.

Work on the canal was started on Feb 1 by Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI), Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) and Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) and it was scheduled to be completed by Feb 10. Due to a delay, residents of the twin cities were facing an acute water shortage.

The worst affected were residents of the cantonment areas as they mostly relied on dam water in the absence of tubewells.

Other areas affected by the shutdown were Pirwadhai, Khayaban-i-Sir Syed, Dhoke Matkal, Shamsabad, Iqbal Town, Muslim Town, Sadiqabad and some of parts of Satellite Town.

Wasa receives six million gallons daily (MGD) from Khanpur Dam while RCB and Chaklala Cantonment Board (CCB) nine MGD. RCB spokesman Qaiser Mehmood confirmed that water supply was restored to the cantonment areas on Wednesday night.

The cantonment authorities had requested the government to increase water share of the areas to 12MGD because RCB has to give a share of its water supply to CCB, he added.

“If we get nine MGD then CCB will get three MGD of water and if we receive 13 MGD, then CCB will be provided four MGD,” he said.

CCB Vice President Raja Irfan Imtiaz said the Chaklala cantonment will receive its share of water on Thursday morning (today).

Water supply from Khanpur Dam covers 80pc of Chaklala’s area as there are no tubewells, he added.

Published in Dawn, February 13th, 2020