RAWALPINDI: With mercury touching 43ºC, water shortage in the city and cantonment areas has increased.

The residents took to the streets in different localities of the garrison city’s cantonment areas on Sunday.

In the hot and sizzling weather, both the Rawalpindi and Chaklala cantonment boards started water rationing by supplying the basic commodity to the residents after one or two days that too for less than an hour.

Scores of people from Mohallah Hukamdad held a protest demonstration outside the Rawalpindi Press Club.

Another protest was held at Tench Bhatta by the local residents against the shortage of water.

When contacted, Chaklala Cantonment Board (CCB) Vice President Raja Irfan Imtiaz told Dawn that the elected members of the cantonment were worried about the shortage of water but there was no solution to it except pray for rains.

With mercury touching 43ºC, cantonment boards start rationing due to short supply from Khanpur Dam

He said water was being supplied to the residents from Khanpur Dam but the management of the filtration plant at Sangjani had reduced the supply, saying there was not sufficient water in the dam.

He said tubewells in the cantonment area were not enough to meet the requirement which increased in the hot weather.

The elected member requested the federal government to chalk out a plan to supply water to the city from other sources.

Raja Irfan Imtiaz said the civic agency was receiving more than 200 complaints on a daily basis but there was no other option except arrange water through tankers.

Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) spokesman Qaisar Mehmood told Dawn that the water level had reduced in the Khanpur Dam which was the main source of water for the cantonment area.

He said the civic body was planning to install more tubewells but the underground water level in the area had also decreased.

Mr Mehmood said water tankers were being provided to the consumers, especially in the populated areas of Rawalpindi city.

He said water rationing was necessary to manage things.

However, the residents of the cantonment areas said mismanagement by the civic body was the main reason for the water shortage.

They said water tankers were being provided only to influential people while the poor were being ignored.

“We pay to the owners Rs1,000 for each tanker as they demand more in the summer,” said Mohammad Hanif, a resident of Nasirabad.

Mohammad Nasir, a trader at Bank Road, said the area was without water for many months but the RCB failed to repair the tubewell.

“The tubewell at the Cantonment police station is not connected with Bank Road and traders and private offices have to hire tankers,” he said.

Mohammad Riaz, a resident of Gulistan Colony, said water supply system was mismanaged by CCB as there was no tubewell in the area and the civic body got water from the Military Engineering Services. He said people were left with no choice but to purchase water from private suppliers.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2017