GWADAR -  The residents of Gwadar yesterday staged a demonstration in front of the deputy commissioner’s office to press for demand to supply sufficient potable water.

The port city of Gwadar which is set to become the crown jewel in the $54 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project is facing acute shortage of drinking water.

The situation of the water shortage has been intensified by a protracted spell of drought in the port city of Gwadar which mostly depends on rainwater.

Talking to The Nation, Public Health Engineering XEN Shakeel Baloch said there had been no rain in Gwadar for several years owing to which the dams supplying water to the city had dried up.

He said an unprecedented rise in the demand of water had been noted due to many development projects in progress in the area.

Baloch said the Gwadar city and its nearby areas needed 7 million gallons of water on regular basis. The XEN, however, said only 2 million gallons ofwater was being supplied to the city through water tankers, adding 413 tankers were being used for this purpose.

He lamented the situation had been complicated due to the tanker owners’ strike which had been continuing for two and a half weeks.

When contacted, Water Tanker Association President Haji Khalid Dashti said, “We are on strike as the government is defaulter of over Rs 930.5 million. We will call off the strike only after our dues are cleared.” He regretted the government does not seem serious in payment of their dues.