Quetta City Requires 60 Million Gallons of Water Daily; WASA Able to Supply Only 31 Million Gallons; 167 Tube Wells Inactive Due to Lack of Funds
Quetta (Daily Qudrat) September 18: A meeting was held under the chairmanship of Commissioner Quetta Division Zeeshan Lashari regarding the supply of water to citizens in Quetta city, WASA’s performance, and administrative matters. MD WASA Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Kakar, along with concerned officers, participated in the meeting.
In the meeting, MD WASA Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Kakar gave a detailed briefing to Commissioner Quetta Division regarding the water supply situation in the city, the difficulties faced by WASA, inactive tube wells, financial issues, and other administrative matters.
During the briefing, it was informed that WASA has a total of 544 tube wells in Quetta city, of which 387 are functional, while 167 tube wells are inactive due to lack of funds and could not be repaired.
According to MD WASA, WASA Quetta is supplying water to citizens by dividing the water supply system into two zones — the Chiltan Zone and the Zarghoon Zone.
The meeting was informed that the daily water requirement of citizens in Quetta city is approximately 60 million gallons, while WASA is currently supplying approximately 31 million gallons of water daily. Thus, there is a significant gap between demand and supply, which is largely being met through private tube wells.
MD WASA informed that in addition to WASA’s tube wells, there are approximately 998 agricultural tube wells and around 1,400 commercial tube wells in the city. The briefing stated that most of these private commercial tube wells are unregistered.
He informed that WASA needs additional funds for the restoration of its inactive tube wells, as well as for employees’ salaries, electricity bills, contingency expenses, tube well repairs, and other necessary maintenance. Due to the lack of financial resources, the repair and restoration process of several tube wells is being affected.
The meeting was informed that the number of domestic and commercial consumers in Quetta city exceeds 97,000, from which WASA receives approximately Rs 240 million in annual revenue. According to the briefing, approximately Rs 3 billion 705 million are allocated for WASA in the provincial budget, while WASA’s total expenses exceed Rs 4 billion 64 million, due to which the institution is facing financial difficulties.
The meeting was also informed that due to the closure of the Dasht Wal field, water supply in some areas of Sariab is affected, causing difficulties for citizens.
On this occasion, Commissioner Quetta Division Zeeshan Lashari directed the concerned authorities to take all possible measures to ensure the supply of water to the citizens of Quetta. He directed effective measures to be taken for the restoration and repair of WASA’s inactive tube wells and said that available resources should be utilized in a better manner to resolve the water problem faced by citizens.
The Commissioner further directed that comprehensive proposals be prepared regarding shifting tube wells to solar energy so that electricity costs can be reduced and the water supply system can be made more effective and sustainable.
