Ghazi Barotha water project to be executed soon

Islamabad: Capital Development Authority is soon executing the Ghazi Barotha Water Supply Project (GBWSP) costing Rs 47 billion to overcome water shortage in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. This was stated by Tariq Mehmood, new chairman of CDA.

He said that the authority has submitted the feasibility report of the project to Indus River System Authority (Irsa) for approval. He said that CDA is trying to remove the concerns of different quarters, including Sindh, NWFP and especially Irsa, which are not in favour of sharing water with the twin cities as the provinces are already running short of water to meet the irrigation needs.

Due to reservations of provinces about the project, the government in the current year's Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) has not allocated funds for the project, but CDA is trying to convince the provincial representatives.

According to the plan a separate water supply line would be laid for Rawalpindi from Ghazi-Barotha along with a 65-km supply line for Islamabad. Besides, CDA is planning to construct two more dams in the Capital. One for fulfilling the drinking water needs of the Capital residents and the other to meet the future demand after the expansion of the city.

Almost everyday the authority receives 800-900 complaints of water shortage from various localities of the Capital but majority of them were not responded. Besides the filtration plants installed by CDA in various sectors are also out of order. People who are already suffering from the heat of high inflation, unemployment, wheat crisis and loadshedding can not bear the water shortage.