JHELUM: Residents of Kahana village in Pind Dadan Khan tehsil, at the foot of Salt Range, are still forced to fetch drinking water from rain-filled ponds shared with wild animals, despite a water supply scheme approved five years ago.

Kahana village was supplied water from Dhan Niroomi, 16km away, but the pipeline was punctured by “influential farmhouse owners” nearby, cutting off supply to poorer households.

Constructed by the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), Rawalpindi/Jhelum, the scheme was left incomplete for want of an electricity connection, yet following a pause, the pending work resumed.

A 1,000-metre pipeline extension from Bagga village to Kahana village, however, remains incomplete.

Residents say they now collect water either from a punctured pipeline passing through a desert some 6km away, or from a pond in the jungle shared with wild animals.

Saqib, a schoolteacher in the village, said PHED had restored water supply only up to Bagga village and stopped there.

He said residents spend night hours fetching water from punctured pipes in the desert, waiting until dawn when the supply is briefly turned on, failing which they must rely on rainwater from ponds shared with animals. “Children risk their lives bathing in rain-fed nullahs since there is no water to bathe at home”, he added.

Superintending Engineer (SE) Hasnsin said 1,000-metre pipeline work was pending due to non-availability of funds from Lahore, adding that work would be completed as soon as funds were released.

Assistant Commissioner Pind Dadan Khan Ayesha Shafqat, responding after seeking input from PHED, said the department had submitted and administratively approved an estimate for installation of a new pipeline and was awaiting fund allocation from authorities in Lahore.

Published in Dawn, July 12th, 2026