ISLAMABAD: Despite tall claims of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) for the resolution of water problems the residents of Islamabad facing severe water shortage.
The civic body’s bosses in their meetings made promises that there will be no water shortage during current summer but during the start of May people are facing water scarcity. Abbas Ali, a G-10 resident, said: “We are facing a lot of problems due to the shortage of water for the past month.”
The water shortage is not only a problem for the city’s urban areas, as residents in rural areas – particularly in Ali Pur, Tarlai Kalan and Bhara Kahu-have also turned to private tankers to fulfill their requirements for water.
Abbas said the CDA supplies water through its own tankers, but it is difficult to get a hold of them. He said the tankers mostly provide water to people who are well-connected. Bureaucrats, police officials and business professionals are provided tankers on a priority basis. He said the rest of population is at the mercy of an uncertain water supply or on private tanker services, which supply water at exorbitant rates.
When asked about the situation in Islamabad’s sectors, a senior official of CDA said the funds are not sufficient for the maintenance of tankers. He said authority has 25 water tankers while only 15 are in working condition but they also need some repairing and maintenance of their tyres. Official said that the CDA chairman has allocated only Rs 0.5 million for the maintenance of water tankers which is not sufficient in this regard.
Despite having lack of resources tankers have been supplying residents with water day and night and the authority is doing everything in its capacity to alleviate the shortage, he added. He said the CDA’s helplines are open 24/7, and the authority is responding promptly to complaints filed by residents.
