RAWALPINDI: As the garrison city was on Monday hit by a heat wave, its residents are faced with an acute shortage of water.

The Met Office predicted chances of rain in the next 24 hours but the demand for water has increased in the city. There are three main sources of water for the city: tubewells, Khanpur Dam and Rawal Dam.

Wasa officials claimed that there was enough water in the dams for supply to the residents. However, the water supply system in the cantonment deteriorated due to inefficiency.

The residents of Naseerabad, Chur Chowk, Siham, Allahabad, Westridge, Misrial Road, Tench Bhatta and Gowalmandi complained that they had been facing the water scarcity for many days with repeated complaints made to the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) yielding no results.

Syed Saleem, a resident of Dhoke Chaudhrian, said despite complaints lodged with the RCB the water supply to the area had not been improved. He said the area residents tried to contact the officials concerned but the latter were not available in their offices.

He said the residents were forced to hire private tankers at Rs1,200 each to meet the water shortage.

Raja Meherban of Misrial Road said the RCB staff told the locals that the water supply was being affected due to power loadshedding.

Mohammad Zaheer, a resident of Allahbad, said the cantonment board authorities provided water to the residents around Dog Centre in Westridge-1 and conducted water rationing for the thicldy-populated area.

He said owners of over one-kanal houses can afford purchasing water tankers but people with low income could not purchase water for their daily use.

Zahid Hussain, a resident of Aliabad, blamed the RCB for the acute water shortage and said the officials concerned did not resolve the problem being faced by the residents.

On the other hand, the RCB officials said water was not enough to meet the requirement which increased in the hot weather.

They said the RCB received only nine million gallon of water daily from Khanpur Dam which was not enough to meet the increasing demand. They said the RCB was trying to ensure the supply of water to all areas of the cantonment.