Construction of three dams in Rawalpindi halted

[Salman]

RAWALPINDI: The construction work at three dams in Rawalpindi has been stopped due to the indifferences in the Punjab government and financial hurdles.

Sources said the dream of provision of 37 million gallons of water to the city through the construction of the dams could not be realised yet.

This will lead to scarcity of water in the twin cities. The local population cannot rely on the underground water, as it is also getting scarce.

According to details, the project for building three dams, namely Charah Dam, Chahan Dam, and Darocha Dam, was approved but due to lack of funds, the work on these projects had been stopped.

Sources said the Punjab government and the Capital Development Authority were to build Charah Dam bearing a cost of Rs 5.3 billion. After construction, the dam would have supplied 700 million gallons of water to Rawalpindi and Islamabad. However, the dam could not be built, as the site for its construction could not be acquired.

Chahan Dam was to be built on an area of 2,500 kanals with a cost of Rs 787 million, and it was to water 12,000 acres of land.

Only Rs 16 million were released out of the Rs 100 million allocated for the project in the current financial year. The construction of the dam was started in June this year, but the work halted as soon as the funds dried up.

Similarly, Darocha Dam was to enable a supply of 25 million gallons of water, but until now, the location for the dam is controversial