TAXILA, June 6: Despite a ban imposed by the relevant authorities, swimming and bathing continues unabated at Khanpur Dam putting the lives of youngsters and the environment in danger.

Khanpur Dam with its beautiful blue water lake is situated eight miles north of Taxila on Haripur Road. It is a multipurpose project, which supplies drinking water to Islamabad and Rawalpindi and irrigation water to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.

Besides it is also an ideal recreation spot for boating, angling and watching migratory birds during winter.

Although Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) had imposed a ban on swimming and bathing in the spillways and water channels of the dam and, in this connection, warning boards had been put in place at different points asking visitors and picnickers “not to take bath or swim in water courses”, but youngsters mostly coming from Rawalpindi, Wah Cantonment, Taxila, Hattar and adjourning areas ignored it.

Talking to this reporter, Raja Yaqoob, a local rescuer who had fished out a number of dead bodies from the spillways and water channels said water was icy cool and its speed was very fast and the youngsters, mostly immature swimmers, failed to sustain its temperature and speed and drowned.

Explaining another reason for drowning, he said, the youngsters who often came from Rawalpindi and other cities having high temperatures had higher body temperature while the dam water was freezing cold. So at times, they were unable to come back to the surface once they jumped into water and drowned, resultantly.

Another rescuer, Khalid Khan said that picnickers and youth ignored the warning boards and due to absence of any check from police and Wapda authorities, such activities continued unabated.  At least two youngsters have lost their lives this season, while independent sources claimed that over 40 deaths have been reported in Khanpur Dam during the last four summers.

When contacted SDO Khanpur dam Zahidul Islam said the dam authorities have erected warning boards and the district administration has imposed section 144 around the dam to stop the practice of bathing and swimming.

He said due to the lack of manpower they could not stop hundreds of people from taking bath there and only police can implement the ban. He further said that he was unaware of any ban imposed by the Ministry of Environment on boating in the water of the dam.

Talking to this reporter, an official of local police said it was impossible for police to control huge crowd of around 20,000 young men who visited the dam everyday.