Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Beside other parts of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), comparatively posh sector F-6 has heavy water scarcity, caused heavy trouble for the residents, Daily Times has learnt.

Located four kilometer away from Parliament House the Sector F-6 has many issues including major issue of water scarcity. The residents are compelled to purchase water from private water supplier (tankers) as Capital Development Authority (CDA) failed to provide them water to meet their this fundamental necessity.

Supply of water in urban areas comprising of sectoral areas and model villages, is the exclusive responsibility of the CDA, said a official in the CDA.

A resident of the sector Mukhtar Ahmed said that as the sector was constructed in 1960, it needs a lot of renovations according to modern techniques. He said beside several others the water issue in the sector is on the top.

Ahmed said the CDA supplies water very irregular and the provided water is failed to fulfill the sector’s residents’ water requirements. “We are compelled to buy water from private water tankers. Which, Ahmed said, is expensive and a average man could not afford this”. The price of each tank, according to Ahmed, is Rs 400 to Rs 500.

Another resident of the area, Abid Hussain said that the water which the CDA provides through supply is not only less as per requirements but the nominal water is very dirty (mud), adding that sometimes the mud water not fit for bathing even. When asked the reason for mud bathing he said that the rusty pipelines and old water storage tanks of CDA were main cause of the issue. “The agency should change them”, he added.

The CDA have three main sources for the provision of water both in the urban and rural areas of the ICT. It supplies up to 75mgd from Simly and Khanpur dams, four small schemes and over 70 mgd from tube-wells.

Whereas the demand in urban area of the ICT goes as high as 125 million gallons per day (mgd) in peak summer season, according to a study conducted by a private firm M.M Pakistan.

It was said in the conducted study that a large quantity, almost 27.6 mgd, is going waste due to rusting underground infrastructure of water supply.

According to the details, the federal cabinet in 2004 had decided that a long-term solution was needed.

Initially two sources were focused upon Indus River upstream of Tarbela Dam and Jhelum River and upstream of Mangla Dam. Despite tall claims and just paper plans by the authorities, the water issue in the city still prevails, said the residents.

The estimated population of the ICT at present is about 2.170 million that includes urban as well as rural population, and according to the M.M Pakistan conducted report. The demand for water to meet their needs is about 211.22 mgd.

According to the CDA officials, the currently available sources of water have been tapped optimally but they are insufficient to fulfill the existing demands.

Meanwhile, like previous years the CDA did not spray anti-mosquito chemicals in the sector while the summer session is about its end. Sumaira Naiz told the scribe that this failure of the agency causes malaria like diseases among the residents of the sector.

Dr. Aslam Khan former head of Malaria Programme (MP) said that the malaria is very dangerous diseases which usually occurred due to carelessness. For the purpose to control the malaria the government has established 40,000 malaria centers across the country.