Emergency imposed in Rawalpindi, 300 KM away from the Indian border, people scared

The water level of Chenab river has fallen drastically after India shut down the gates of Baglihar and Sial dams in Jammu and Kashmir. The water reaching Pakistan's share has halted, because of which the water level in Chenab has fallen from 22 feet to 15 feet. 7-foot fall in water level within 24 hours has raised alarm for water crisis in 24 Punjab cities and over 3 crore population. Meanwhile, Pakistan's Rawalpindi city itself is also hit by severe water crisis, in which once again water emergency has been imposed.

Dry and hollow dams: For how long the water will continue?

As per Pakistan's Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), there is just one month's water remaining in Khanpur Dam and three months' water remaining in Rawal Dam. Because of persistent drought and extremely minimal rainfall, these two big water reservoirs of the city are drying out very quickly. The city's daily water requirement is 50 million gallons, while WASA can provide only 30 million gallons of water. That is, the city is suffering from a shortage of 20 million gallons on a daily basis. Now the scenario has reached a point where reliance on tube wells and other sources is on the rise.

Population, trade and water scarcity

Authorities maintain that not only drought but also fast-growing population and commercialization are intensifying the water crisis. The pressure on water resources has heightened to such an extent that WASA is now compelled to take stern action against wastage of water. WASA has announced that legal action would be taken against unjustified use of water. Rawalpindi and Islamabad citizens have been requested to immediately implement measures for conservation of water.

There is no chance of rain, the condition will further aggravate

These recommendations involve repairing the leakage of taps and pipes at the earliest, cutting the bathing time, washing machine and dishwasher running full load, watering plants with residual water, avoiding washing vehicles and roads with pipes. Meanwhile, as per the meteorological centers in Punjab, this year till now, much less rain has been observed than the seasonal average. Experts have opined that there will be no relief of any magnitude even in a couple of weeks, because of which the scenario will become worse.