The Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) budget for the coming fiscal year has earmarked Rs. 17.4 million to provide potable water from the Khanpur Dam to the cantonment regions of Rawalpindi and Chaklala.
The initiative, which was approved by the Central Working Development Party in July 2017, has already cost Rs. 845 million.?An additional Rs. 35 million would be provided in the coming fiscal year to support the effort.
In addition, the federal government has allocated Rs. 17.4 million for this initiative in the coming year. The project’s overall cost is anticipated to be Rs. 885 million.
The cantonment boards in Rawalpindi and Chaklala would receive an additional supply of water on a daily basis as part of this programme.
Earlier, these boards suffered a water deficit because they were only provided with six million gallons of water every day, which proved insufficient.
However, with the completion of this project, a further three million gallons of water will be available, solving the inhabitants’ concerns about water scarcity. People have expressed their dissatisfaction, stressing the boards’ indifference to the water shortage situation despite the amount of precipitation in the dams.
They expect that this initiative would provide respite and fix the ongoing issue, especially during the summer months when demand for water soars.
In a similar development, the Balochistan Public Health Engineering (PHE) department filed a feasibility assessment for three huge dams to address Quetta’s chronic water deficit. According to the facts, the feasibility report and PC 1 of the Brij Aziz Khan Dam,?Babar Kach Dam, and Halak Dam, with a total estimated cost of Rs. 143 billion, have been prepared.
Sources added that Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, has been dealing with a serious water crisis for many years, with the underground water level dropping at an alarming rate every day.