Islamabad:Some downtown sectors of the capital and posh residential localities in adjoining areas have been facing shortage of water since the start of the ongoing summer season.
A survey conducted by this scribe shows that there is water shortage in I series sectors of Islamabad while residents of posh schemes in adjoining areas are facing the most acute situation.
The officials of the Capital Development Authority (CDA), however, have attributed disturbance in water supply in sectors I-8, I-9 and I-10 to unscheduled electricity load shedding. These three sectors are served by tube wells to meet water requirements. “We face problems in regular operation of these tube wells due to electricity load shedding”, an official of the Water Supply directorate of CDA said.
He said that less than 250 complaints for water bowzers are being received from across urban areas of Islamabad with little over 100 complaints being registered from three sectors of I series.
As the CDA's water supply wing is managing supply in affected areas with the help of water tankers, there is no proper water management in adjoining posh residential areas of twin cities.
As a result, the residents of these posh areas are at the mercy of private tankers mafia who are charging high from consumers. They have gone to the extent of charging Rs5000 per tanker.
Meanwhile, the CDA official said that at present, they have been able to secure 60 Million Gallons per Day (MGD) against requirement of 70 MGD. The total supply includes 26 MGD from Simly Dam and 9 MGD from Khanpur Dam.
Meanwhile, Director General Water (CDA), Sardar Khan Zimri in an interaction with the business community of Islamabad, the other day said that CDA is implementing comprehensive short-term and long-term strategies to address Islamabad’s growing water challenges and ensure sustainable water supply.
He said several mega projects have been initiated to bridge the widening gap between water demand and supply. Zimri informed the participants that Islamabad currently requires around 120 million gallons of water daily against the available supply of nearly 80 million gallons.
To overcome the shortfall, CDA has launched multiple major projects including Shahdra Dam, Dhotara Dam upstream of Khanpur Dam and a mega initiative to bring 100 million gallons of water from Tarbela to Islamabad.
He termed the Tarbela project a long-term solution for the future needs of the city and said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has constituted a task force under the Chairmanship of Interior Minister to oversee the mega projects as well as the water and sewerage issues.
He stated that Shahdara Dam is expected to be completed within one and a half to two years while significant progress on other projects would also be visible in the next three to four years.
The DG Water said CDA is simultaneously focusing on improving operational efficiency by reducing water losses caused by leakages and outdated infrastructure. He noted that around 25 to 30 percent of water is currently wasted due to leakages and the authority aims to reduce these losses to 15 to 20 percent through rehabilitation of damaged pipelines and modernization of the network system.
He added that CDA is upgrading small waterworks like Shahdara, Said Pur and Barri Imam and taking practical measures for groundwater conservation through rainwater harvesting initiatives.
