Contestants find it difficult to woo voters amid water crisis PHOTO: ONLINE/File
This district has five NA and 11 provincial assembly constituencies, and all of these face severe water crises, especially NA-250.
At a count of 821,992, NA-250 is the district’s largest constituency in terms of population.
According to a survey by The Express Tribune, the water factor will significantly affect the results in the upcoming polls as voters continue to grill the contesting candidates, especially the ones belonging to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Muttahida Quami Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), over the issue. The people have been getting the candidates to take an oath to resolve their water crises when elected.
MQM-P’s Fayyaz Qaimkhani, Pak Sarzameen Party’s (PSP) Hafeezuddin, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Ataullah Khan, PPP’s Ali Ahmed, Awami National Party’s Shahi Syed, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal’s Muhammad Naeem and other candidates will be competing for the NA seat.
After the new delimitations, areas of the former NA-241, NA-242, PS-93 and PS-94 are now a part of NA-250. Previously, MQM’s Syed Akhtar Qadri and Mehboob Alam won from NA-241 and NA-242 respectively while PTI’s Hafeezuddin and MQM’s Saifuddin Khalid won the PS-93 and PS-94 seats respectively. They both joined PSP later on.
A large part of the SITE sub-division and some parts of the Orangi sub-division fall under NA-250. These areas include Sher Shah, Muhammadi Road, Urdu Bazaar, Al Fatah Wilayat Colony, Waleka Hospital, Postal Colony, New Labour Colony, SITE Area, Old Labour Square, Rasheedabad, Hasrat Mohani Colony, Pak Modern Colony, Asif Colony, Wilayatabad No 1, Zuberi Colony, Chishti Nagar Colony, Old Golimar, Central Muslimabad, Mistri Khan village, Hasan Olia village, Rexer Line, Mianwali Colony, Shah Jehanabad, Sher Shah village, Baloch Mohalla, Haroonabad, Elahi Future Colony, Metroville, Islamiyah Colony, New Mianwali Colony, Awam Colony, Kunwari Colony, Muhammadpur, Islamiyah Colony, Pirabad Colony, Qasbah Colony, Datanagar, Orangi, Aligarh Colony, Gulfamabad, Mujahidabad, MPR Colony and other areas.
Reviewing the results of the previous elections, it would be fair to conclude that this constituency is an MQM stronghold. However, with the recent rift within the ranks of the party coupled with the political challenges that lie ahead and recent grilling at the hands of their voters over the lack of water supply, MQM has an uphill task in the upcoming election to retain their vote bank. The party’s rivals have already started to cash in on MQM’s divided vote bank.
Social activist Muhammad Ahmed said that most of the NA-250 areas are facing an acute water shortage for many years. When it does rain, the Hub Dam is filled and the water supply is relatively better, he shared. However, water tankers, he said, are now more expensive than ever and people living in the underprivileged parts of the constituency are compelled to consume polluted underground water.
A Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) official told The Express Tribune that Karachi’s share from the Hub Dam is 100 million gallons per day (MGD), however, the dam has reached its dead level due to lack of rainfall.
Therefore, hardly eight MGD of water is being provided, which is close to zero provision, he confirmed. According to the water board’s schedule, 25 MGD of water is gained from an alternative source of River Indus to curb the water crisis. The water in some rural areas is supplied for an hour or two after three long months while supply in many other areas remains suspended for years.
According to international standards, every person needs 50 gallons of water. Therefore, keeping NA-250’s population count in view, 41MGD of water supply is needed daily in the area as opposed to the minimal supply currently.
The SITE sub-division, the largest part of the constituency, is one of the worst affected from the water crisis as it not only impacts the lives of the residents but also affects industrial production and increases unemployment.
SITE’s industrial area needs 40MGD of water supply on a daily basis while it is being provided with only by 1MGD by KWSB leading to low productivity by countless factories.
Ahmed said that the water theft mafia has established illegal connections from the water board’s underground central pipelines into factories and cottage industries. Due to this, he said, the water quota of residential areas has decreased.
There are various other problems in NA-250, including load-shedding, dilapidated roads, poor sewerage system, dysfunctional street lights, rising street crime, increasing population of stray dogs and other issues.
The provincial assembly constituencies of PS-114 and PS-120 are part of NA-250.
Reporting by Syed Ashraf Ali
Published in The Express Tribune, July 20th, 2018.
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