RAWALPINDI: While the summer season is in its peak, many areas of Rawalpindi city and the cantonment are facing an acute water shortage and the civic bodies have failed to solve the issue.

Misrial Road, Afshan Colony, Dhoke Chaudhrian, People’s Colony, Adra, Tench Bhatta, Dhoke Syedan and Baraf Khana Chowk are the areas in the cantonment affected by the water shortage.

In the city areas, localities along the old Airport Road from Koral Chowk to Ammar Chowk people are faced with water shortage as the Capital Development Authority (CDA) recently stopped the supply of water from tubewells installed in its jurisdiction.

Farhan Malik, a resident of Misrial Road, said that there was shortage of water in his area and Rawalpindi Cantonment Board had turned a blind eye to the issue. He said despite having enough water in Khanpur Dam, the RCB failed to ensure supply to the residents.

“The shortage of water in the summer season has become routine. We are neither supplied water from tubewells nor the dam,” he said and added that the residents were left with no option but to depend on water tankers for their daily use.

Mohsin Ali, a resident of the Afshan Colony, said despite paying all the charges on monthly basis, the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board had failed to supply water to the residents.

He said water was supplied on alternate days that too for a few minutes, which was not sufficient to meet the daily requirement. He said that it was strange that private tankers got water from local areas but RCB failed to find water and install tubewells.

Fateh Mohammad, a resident of Faisal Colony on Airport Road, said that private tankers were selling water on higher rates while the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) failed to supply water to the residents regularly.

He said people elected their representatives but they were helpless. “The government spent billions of rupees on Kutchery Chowk remodeling project and underpasses but the residents still face the shortage of basic amenities. Water supply is more important than better traveling facilities,” Mohammad Nasir said.

The cantonment board officials were of the view that there was a gap between demand and supply. There are not enough tubewells while most areas are being provided water from Khanpur Dam and its supply is only 11 million gallon daily.

They said residential areas in the cantonment had increased manifold but the government had provided a smaller water share to the cantonment and there were no funds available for the installation of tubewells.

On the other hand, Wasa Managing Director Azizullah Khan said most areas along the old Airport Road were facing water shortage as CDA suspended the supply from tubewells installed along Islamabad Expressway.

“We took up the matter with CDA officials and the matter is likely to get resolved in a week or two. We have prepared the case and will plead with the federal government to restore the supply of water from the tubewells installed by Wasa on the funds of Punjab government with the permission of CDA in the past,” he said.

He expressed the hope the water shortage issues in the many areas would be solved. He said technical teams had been formed to check more than 480 tubewells in the city areas. However, he said there was electricity loadshedding in many areas that created hurdles in the smooth supply of water.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2026