Various parts of Rawalpindi have been suffering an acute water shortage due to prolonged power outages, causing immense inconvenience for the residents.
They said that some parts of the Rawalpindi Cantonment were worst affected because water consumption had peaked on account of the sizzling heat, adding that water was supplied only for two hours in two days.
Hamid, a resident of Peoples Colony said that despite paying all utility bills they did not get electricity and water facilities in the summer and gas in the winter. The citizens were forced to arrange for water tankers costing Rs 800 to Rs1,000, which was a costly alternative, he added.
The residents further said that many people from the area had to fetch water from afar with great trouble, but the authorities were not taking the matter seriously. According to a Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) official, prolonged and unannounced load shedding was mainly causing the water shortage. He informed that RCB received water from Khanpur dam from 6 am to 1 pm, but pumping had become impossible without electricity.
Tubewells and pumping stations have become redundant without electricity. The residents of Adiala Road, Dhamial Road, Chakri Road, Dhama Seydian, Munwar Colony, Kalial, Dhoke Juma, Dhamial, Bank Colony, Liaquat Colony, Quaid Azam Colony, Nai Abadi, RawalTown, PotoharTown and Dhoke Munshi have all been facing a water shortage.
Muhammad Sajid, Waleed, Iqbal, Ansar Khan, Ahsan and others said that the residents faced great difficulties due to the water shortage but the authorities concerned were paying no heed A number of complaints have been registered but the situation remained unresolved, they added. They informed that water had not been supplied to their area for the last several days but the Water and Sanitation Department (WASA) was just a silent spectator of their miseries. They deplored WASA’s inefficiency, forcing residents to adopt alternatives such as water boring and purchasing water from private suppliers at exorbitant rates. Clean drinking water was also a major issue.
Rawalpindi residents urged the authorities to ensure adequate water supply to the affected areas.
