–MCI’s abject failure to ensure sufficient water supply to Islamabad in summers causes panic among residents
ISLAMABAD: With summers arriving, the water woes of denizens of the federal capital have started to rear their ugly heads as the Directorate of Water Supply has made serious cuts, downing the supply from 120 million gallons per day to only 55 million gallons.
Metropolitan Corporation of Islamabad (MCI) in its bid to plug the gap is now supplying water from the Simly Dam, Khanpur Dam and tube-wells around the city.
While the stopgap measurements may work for the time being, in the absence of proper planning, lack of apt policies and abject failures to implement remedies on part of MCI authorities adds to the severity of the situation in the long term.
It is pertinent to mention that the water level in both the Simly and Khanpur dams is already nearing the dead level and, in absence of rainfall, the supply from both dams will either be cut off or reduced to bare minimum.
The water woes in the recent years have become a regular occurrence during summers in the capital. This year, even though it’s just March, Islamabad is once again in the grip of severe water shortage as water supply to many residential sectors have drastically decreased and many water boreholes in Sector G-11, G-10, G-13, F-11, E-11, D-12 and other sectors have gone dry due to lower water level.
Many of the denizens of Islamabad, the only city of Pakistan built according to a master plan, are left at the mercy of the tanker mafia who demand exorbitant prices for a single tank ranging anywhere between 2,000 to 5,000 rupees for a single tanker.
During the tenure of former CDA chairman Kamran Lashari, more than a decade ago, a mega project to bring water from the Indus River via Tarbela Dam was approved. Once completed the project would have sorted out water woes of the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. However, the project was shelved and wasn’t heard of since.
Authorities at CDA and MCI, when contacted said that the main reason behind the shortage of water was the increase in temperature, more consumption of water and an early onset of summer.