Tapering off to a trickle

With large rain deficits and age-old creaky infrastructure, Karachi’s water supply is fast tapering off to a trickle. The city is billed to become the epicentre of water crisis soon as demand vastly outstrips supply. An inequality in distribution committed by those holding the pipeline vales further compounds the problem as some areas suffer from severe water shortages while others enjoy abundant amounts of the precious resource. In this dire situation, the tanker mafia comes into play and exploits the already harried citizens. The water supplied by these trucks costs far too much for the middle- and low-income households to bear. Shouldering this extra financial burden leaves a deep hole in their pockets. But it seems the authorities are purblind to their predicament.

The city has grown rapidly in recent decades, and so has its population. But a commensurate response to its needs, water in particular, has not been forthcoming. At present, the city requires 1,100 million gallons of water per day (MGD) and faces a shortage of 700 MGD. Of the two sources of water supply, Hub Dam has gone dry because of lack of rainfall. This means a clear loss of 100 MGD. That leaves Keenjhar Lake as the sole source of supply to the city. Various areas that were earlier supplied water every 15 to 20 days, now do not receive water for more than a month. World Health Organization (WHO) says people require a minimum daily water allotment of between 100 and 120 litres to maintain the most basic standard of living. The city appears no way near that threshold.

What was trumpeted as a huge project to come to grips with the city’s water woes – the K-IV – has not yet come to fruition either. This scheme is stipulated to add 260 MGD to the city’s water grid. If only this project is put on fast track, Karachi’s woes could be mitigated.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 10^th, 2018.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.