Rawalpindi water crisis. Photo: INP (file)
RAWALPINDI:
Residents of the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) and Chaklala Cantonment Board (CCB) areas are facing an acute water crisis, with an increasing supply shortage, declining groundwater yield and reduced inflow from the Khanpur Dam, leaving thousands of households struggling to meet their daily water needs.
The crisis has intensified despite a significant increase in water charges by the cantonal authorities. The annual water supply bill for a five marla residential property has been raised from Rs 8,400. to Rs.14,400, while residents say that the amount of water supplied has continued to decrease.
According to officials and local representatives, water supply from Khanpur Dam has dropped from the allocated 19 million gallons per day (MGD) to just 11 MGD, while discharge from tube wells has dropped significantly due to falling groundwater levels.
As a result, the combined daily water shortage in the two jurisdictions has reached 41.64 MGD, with many tube wells no longer producing sufficient water.
Residents across the cantonment areas complain that water is now being supplied only on alternate days for 25 to 30 minutes.
In Rawalpindi Cantonment, the daily water requirement is 50 MGD while currently only 12.78 MGD is available, resulting in a daily deficit of 37.22 MGD.
Residents of densely populated neighborhoods including Mughalabad and Azizabad said the worsening shortage had made everyday life increasingly difficult. They complained that although they received water for barely half of the month, they continue to be billed for a full month’s supply.
Former RCB Vice President Malik Munir Ahmed said the cantonment was entitled to receive 19 MGD from Khanpur Dam but was currently receiving only 11 MGD. He claimed that a significant amount of stored water was being lost through seepage, worsening the already critical situation.
Responding to the concerns, RCB Chief Engineer Ateequr Rehman Chaudhry said efforts were on to improve the water supply system. He explained that the alternate-day supply plan had been put in place to allow for sufficient storage so that water could be distributed more evenly across all sites.
The situation is equally alarming in CCB, where the water supply system in all 10 wards has come under severe strain. Against a daily demand of 10.12 MGD, only 5.92 MGD is available, resulting in a daily shortfall of 4.2 MGD.
Residents of Kamalabad, Jhawara, Tahli Mohri and adjoining localities said the prolonged shortage had forced them to buy expensive private water tankers. They claimed that repeated complaints filed with the CCB had not led to any lasting solution.
