RAWALPINDI: Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) and Rawalpindi Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) have urged residents of the city to use water judiciously in their daily routine to avoid shortage as water supply to Cantt and city areas from Khanpur dam has decreased due to the annual Khanpur Dam canal de-silting.
Talking to APP, RCB spokesman Qaiser Mehmood informed that earlier the RCB was receiving nearly six million gallons daily from the dam.
The Khanpur dam canal de-silting project started on Feb 1 would be completed till February 12, while the water supply to the residents would normalise from February 15.
The supply of water from Khanpur dam to Rawalpindi city and cantonment areas has reduced due to the project, leading to a shortage of water in many localities.
He said that the decrease in water supply could create problems for the board, which was already getting less than the sanctioned quota of water from the dam.
He also said that the board was trying to meet water demand through tube wells.
The board supplies water from the Khanpur dam to Chor, Masrial Road, Peoples Colony, Tench Bhatta, Kiani Road, Dhoke Chaudharian, Afshan Colony and other areas where residents had made complaints about the short supply of water.
“RCB had to supply water to these areas through water tanks,” he said while adding that water from tube wells was being supplied to colonies by running them over time.
To a question, he replied that RCB had been effectively pursuing its plan to avert water shortage and ensure steady water supply to the resident.
RCB under its campaign launched to check and disconnect illegal water connections from its areas had also disconnected a large number of illegal water connections.
To another question, he informed that there were over 51,000 water connections in RCB areas. According to WASA officials, water Supply from Khanpur Dam was also curtailed to WASA from 3.5 MGD to 1.5 MGD due to annual dredging/de-silting of Khanpur Dam canal.
“The reduced water supply will affect many areas including Pir Wadhai, Khyban-e-Sir Syed, Dhoke Matkaal, Shamsabad, Iqbal Town, Muslim Town Sadiqabad and some of the parts of Satellite Town,” he added.
The RCB spokesman further said that during this period WASA would be operating its tube wells for extra hours to supply water to the citizens of the areas that are particularly affected.
“Water supply through water bouzers was also being ensured but all these measures cannot fulfil the actual requirements of consumers. Therefore, the consumers are requested to avoid wastage of water during this period,” he emphasised.