By admin 
The Rawalpindi City Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) has declared a drought emergency in the city to manage the water needs of residents, following a drought warning issued by the Pakistan Meteorological Department , which warned of lowest chances of rainfall in February and March.
According to a report by Dawn on Saturday, WASA Managing Director Muhammad Salim Ashraf said water supply for people living in the garrison town has been affected by drought, rapid population growth, various economic operations and shortage of resources.
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“WASA Rawalpindi is facing severe difficulties in water supply and in view of this situation, it has been decided to impose drought emergency in Rawalpindi so that people can use water judiciously,” Ashraf was quoted as saying by Dawn. He said the prolonged drought has led to a dramatic depletion of dams and underground reservoirs, resulting in a huge imbalance between supply and demand, Dawn reported. “Rawalpindi city requires 68 million gallons (MGD) of water per day, while 51 MGD is being provided from existing resources, which include Rawal and Khanpur dams besides over 490 tubewells. Keeping this in view, a drive has been launched to prevent unnecessary use and wastage of water,” he warned, adding that fines will be imposed in cases of violations.
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According to Wasa officials, groundwater is depleting rapidly. The water level was 100 feet in the 1990s but it has since dropped to 700 feet, Dawn reported . Earlier, the city of Karachi faced water supply disruptions due to power cuts at the Dhabeji pumping station. The disaster was triggered by an explosion during a breakdown that led to the bursting of two major pipelines, cutting off water supply to various parts of the city. Pipeline number 5, which had a diameter of 72 inches, was one of the affected pipelines, Express Tribune reported.
Gill Bikram Singh