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The last few years have seen water provision in Rawalpindi rise to the top of the news bulletin like never before. It’s a sad fact of Pindiites’ life that they must worry about the scarcity of something as essential as water.
Narrating his tale of enduring fifteen days of living without running water and getting trapped in an almost waterless area in Fazal Town near Usman Market, Najmul Hasan, an engineer by profession, says, “I was really amazed to know that the entire area enjoyed that uniqueness.”
“If you rove up and down the streets of the locality, you will see boring water machines at work, residents borrowing water from a few lucky ones having it and twirling up their hands in the air in thanks to them for lending a bottle of drinking water,” adds Najmul Hasan.
Describing the story of her dehydrated area, Shakeela Awan, a mother of seven kids, says: “I’m not a writer; otherwise I would have chronicled the moment-by-moment sufferings daily, as it unfolded. That’s why I ask you to do it for us,” she almost cried.
“If you don’t have a good time, you usually have a good experience. That about sums up my waterless ordeal: By keeping a bucket of water handy, I have almost got used to manually filling the washroom tank whenever it needs flushing. I appreciate the fact that I could still flush a bathroom this old-fashioned manner in a pinch,” says Salman Ahmad, a software engineer.
“I spent the entire two-plus weeks without doing any laundry, when normally I would probably have done at least a couple of loads,” says Raheel Ahmad, an area resident, and adds by saying: “You know! My clothes still smell but look fine. As I have lived without running water, it makes me realize that functionality — and not fashion — is the important thing. Besides, I am pretty sure old style open washrooms will eventually come back into vogue, and then I will be ahead of trend.”
Kiran Ali, a housewife says, “I do not need much water in the kitchen. Without a flowing tap at the ready, I find that I can easily cut down on the amount of water I normally use and waste. I get eggs boiled just fine in about half the amount of water I typically use, and the still steaming water I use to make soft yesterday naan (bread) for the breakfast. The rest of the sweltering water I pour directly into a dishpan to scrub and rinse up the dishes from dinner the night before. Even washing the kitchen floor with a small bucket of water and a handheld sponge rather than a mop saves me at least a couple of gallons.”
“On an ominous note, Dr. Zeba said, “The underground water table in Fazal Town is fast depleting by rampant development in the area.”
“Despite scarcity of water the use of hosepipes and sprinklers for domestic uses i.e. the watering of plants and lawns or the washing of driveways, floors and motor vehicles is going thoughtlessly. Perhaps, that’s the reason the authorities have denied water facility to us so that we can avoid the sin of wasting this precious resource,” adds Zeba.
Area residents feel if the water is not provided to them by the city fathers, they will have to sell off their houses at a poor price causing financial loss to them.
Narrating his tale of enduring fifteen days of living without running water and getting trapped in an almost waterless area in Fazal Town near Usman Market, Najmul Hasan, an engineer by profession, says, “I was really amazed to know that the entire area enjoyed that uniqueness.”
“If you rove up and down the streets of the locality, you will see boring water machines at work, residents borrowing water from a few lucky ones having it and twirling up their hands in the air in thanks to them for lending a bottle of drinking water,” adds Najmul Hasan.
Describing the story of her dehydrated area, Shakeela Awan, a mother of seven kids, says: “I’m not a writer; otherwise I would have chronicled the moment-by-moment sufferings daily, as it unfolded. That’s why I ask you to do it for us,” she almost cried.
“If you don’t have a good time, you usually have a good experience. That about sums up my waterless ordeal: By keeping a bucket of water handy, I have almost got used to manually filling the washroom tank whenever it needs flushing. I appreciate the fact that I could still flush a bathroom this old-fashioned manner in a pinch,” says Salman Ahmad, a software engineer.
“I spent the entire two-plus weeks without doing any laundry, when normally I would probably have done at least a couple of loads,” says Raheel Ahmad, an area resident, and adds by saying: “You know! My clothes still smell but look fine. As I have lived without running water, it makes me realize that functionality — and not fashion — is the important thing. Besides, I am pretty sure old style open washrooms will eventually come back into vogue, and then I will be ahead of trend.”
Kiran Ali, a housewife says, “I do not need much water in the kitchen. Without a flowing tap at the ready, I find that I can easily cut down on the amount of water I normally use and waste. I get eggs boiled just fine in about half the amount of water I typically use, and the still steaming water I use to make soft yesterday naan (bread) for the breakfast. The rest of the sweltering water I pour directly into a dishpan to scrub and rinse up the dishes from dinner the night before. Even washing the kitchen floor with a small bucket of water and a handheld sponge rather than a mop saves me at least a couple of gallons.”
“On an ominous note, Dr. Zeba said, “The underground water table in Fazal Town is fast depleting by rampant development in the area.”
“Despite scarcity of water the use of hosepipes and sprinklers for domestic uses i.e. the watering of plants and lawns or the washing of driveways, floors and motor vehicles is going thoughtlessly. Perhaps, that’s the reason the authorities have denied water facility to us so that we can avoid the sin of wasting this precious resource,” adds Zeba.
Area residents feel if the water is not provided to them by the city fathers, they will have to sell off their houses at a poor price causing financial loss to them.
Posted in: Islamabad
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