Rawalpindi to face water problem if work on Khanpur Dam not completed

Rawalpindi

There is possibility of water problem if work on 3rd phase of Khanpur Dam is not completed in short course. The project was initiated more than eight years back but due to one reason or another it could not be completed so far.

In this connection, MNA Malik Abrar who is also chairman of Parks and Horticulture Agency (PHA) held a meeting with Col (r) Mohammad Safdar, chairman standing committee of Information Technology at Punjab House here Wednesday.

Malik Abrar was accompanied by Rawalpindi Cantonment Board Vice President Malik Iftikhar and Chaklala Cantonment Board Vice President Raja Mohammad Irfan.

During the meeting, Malik Abrar brought into the notice of Col Safdar about the non-completion of 3rd phase of the Khanpur Dam project due to non-availability of funds. He said that though 80 per cent work on 3rd phase has been completed, the remaining work remains incomplete on it. If the project is not completed then there is great possibility of occurrence of water problem in Rawalpindi both for drinking and irrigation purposes. Funds are required for completing the remaining work on this project. Moreover, due to non-completion of project, loss would occur to national exchequer, Malik Abrar said.

The chairman standing committee on Information Technology after being apprised of the situation assured of Malik Abrar that he would bring the matter into the notice of Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif to get allocation of funds for this purpose.

Malik Abrar also discussed the issue of Cantonment Hospital which needs to be revamped for which purpose he said funds are required. Col Safdar assured that this matter would also be discussed with the prime minister for seeking funds from the government.

It merits to mention here that the completion period of 3rd phase of Khanpur Dam was to be completed in the year 2015. Later the date was extended up to June 2016 but again due to shortage of required funds, the project still remained delayed. The new date of completion of this project was December 2016 which again remains unattained.