Rawalpindi struggles with water shortages as summer heat peaks

RAWALPINDI: Large parts of Rawalpindi city and cantonment are facing a severe shortage of water during the height of summer, with residents saying the problem has persisted despite repeated complaints and growing dependence on private tankers.

According to the reported details, the shortage has affected several cantonment neighbourhoods, including Misrial Road, Afshan Colony, Dhoke Chaudhrian, People’s Colony, Adra, Tench Bhatta, Dhoke Syedan and Baraf Khana Chowk. In city areas, residents living along the old Airport Road from Koral Chowk to Ammar Chowk are also facing supply problems after the Capital Development Authority halted water provision from tubewells located within its jurisdiction.

Farhan Malik, a resident of Misrial Road, said water scarcity in his locality had become a recurring issue and accused the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board of ignoring residents’ concerns. He said that although Khanpur Dam had sufficient water, the civic body had not ensured uninterrupted distribution.

“The shortage of water in the summer season has become routine. We are neither supplied water from tubewells nor the dam,” he said, adding that households had been left with no option but to rely on water tankers for daily needs.

Mohsin Ali of Afshan Colony said residents continued to pay monthly charges but were still not receiving adequate supply from the cantonment board. He said water was being provided every other day and only for a few minutes, which he described as insufficient for normal household use. He also questioned why private tankers could obtain water locally while the board had not been able to arrange additional supply or install tubewells.

In Faisal Colony on Airport Road, resident Fateh Mohammad said private tankers were charging high prices while the Water and Sanitation Agency was not supplying water regularly. Another resident, Mohammad Nasir, criticised what he described as misplaced priorities in public spending.

“The government spent billions of rupees on Kutchery Chowk remodeling project and underpasses but the residents still face the shortage of basic amenities. Water supply is more important than better traveling facilities,” he said.

Officials cite supply gap and infrastructure constraints

Cantonment board officials said the shortage stemmed from a mismatch between demand and available supply. They said the number of tubewells was insufficient and that many areas in the cantonment were being supplied from Khanpur Dam, whose allocation for the area was only 11 million gallons daily. According to the officials, residential expansion in the cantonment had increased significantly, but the area’s water share remained limited and no funds were available to install new tubewells.

Wasa Managing Director Azizullah Khan said the shortage in many localities along old Airport Road had emerged after the CDA stopped water supply from tubewells installed along Islamabad Expressway. He said the issue had been raised with CDA officials and could be settled within one or two weeks.

“We took up the matter with CDA officials and the matter is likely to get resolved in a week or two. We have prepared the case and will plead with the federal government to restore the supply of water from the tubewells installed by Wasa on the funds of Punjab government with the permission of CDA in the past,” he said.

Azizullah Khan said he hoped the shortage in several areas would ease. He added that technical teams had been formed to inspect more than 480 tubewells in city areas, while electricity loadshedding in many places was also disrupting the smooth supply of water.