Different areas of Karachi have been facing an acute shortage of water for months now
KARACHI: The Sindh government, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) and the district administration has once again failed the city. Different areas of Karachi have been facing an acute shortage of water for months now. According to KWSB sources, the water requirement of Karachi is 1,000 million gallons per day (mgd), whereas it is being supplied only 550mgd. The Hub Dam, which used to supply 100mgd, has also already dried up considerably due to a lack of rainfall. Hence, the city is facing a shortage of 450mgd water. The water crisis in Karachi has aggravated to a worrying extent and no one at the helm of affairs seems to pay heed to the acute water crisis. Since water, like air, is crucial for existence, people are left with no option but to buy water and that too at exorbitant prices.
Karachiites have been left at the mercy of the tanker mafia, which is fleecing consumers by charging Rs3,000-8,000 a tanker. The rates of water tankers vary from locality to locality. Residents of various water-starved localities in Karachi, who are convinced that the government will do nothing to provide clean and safe water, have started digging wells near and in their houses. It has been reported time and again that the government has conducted operations against illegal water hydrants but it is evident that it has failed miserably in curbing water theft. It is now a known fact that water is being siphoned off through illegal connections to illegal hydrants and it seems that the tanker mafia enjoys covert patronage and support of politicians and the corrupt KWSB bureaucracy.
It is time the government paid attention to the water crisis and ensured smooth supply of clean and safe potable water to residents of the city because it is not possible for everyone to afford water tankers. I realise that apart from water theft, a massive influx of migrants, pipeline leaks and a lack of rainfall have also led to the water woes. But still, it is for the governments, both federal and provincial, to initiate projects to meet the increasing water demand of the metropolis.
Muhammed Zafir Zia
Published in The Express Tribune, May 11th, 2015.
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