H20 woe: Water-starved residents attack hydrant and fire brigade driver in Sukkur

We are being forced to hire donkey carts to fetch water from hand pumps, says protester.

SUKKUR:

After running dry for a week, New Pind residents finally lost their patience and attacked a municipal water hydrant near the Shalimar railway crossing. They also attacked a fire brigade driver, Hakim Ali, who managed to escape as the crowd turned violent.

The protesters, led by Muhammad Ismail, Bibi Pathani and Mukhtiar Ali, said that the shortage had hit New Pind colonies, including Islam Colony, Microwave Colony, Darzi Mohalla, Gopang Mohalla and Brohi mohalla.

“The North Sindh Urban Services Corporation sends fire brigades for influential people, not us,” said Bibi Pathani. “We are living in misery because the corporation has not supplied any water in the last ten days.” She accused the corporation officials of corruption and claimed that water tanker drivers demanded money to deliver supplies.

“The residents are being forced to hire donkey carts to fetch water from hand pumps located in low-lying areas of the city,” she said. Darzi Mohalla resident Mukhtiar Ali claimed that the supply was not regular. “Since water is usually supplied two to three times a week we are used to not having water,” he admitted. “It could have been worse as in some areas they only supply water for two hours a week.”

More than 400,000 people live in New Pind. “The elected representatives do not visit often enough,” Ali said. “When they visit we lodge our complaints and they promise to help solve our problems but nothing happens.”

The corporation director was unavailable for comment but the assistant director, Manzoor Ahmed Bachkani, told The Express Tribune that the public health engineering department disconnected the water supply pipeline to New Pind without their consent. He added that a new 24-inch diameter plastic pipeline was being laid instead. “The department has said that although the work had finished when they released water into the pipe, there was a leak,” he said. “As soon as the leak gets fixed, the water supply will resume.” Bachkani added that the corporation supplied water to the residents regularly and without any discrimination.

“We started work on the 24-inch pipeline with the corporation’s approval. The leak was not unusual and occurred because of some faulty joints,” said department engineer Sadiq Narejo. “We are using cement on the joints to ensure that they are leak-proof and hope that we can complete it by June 30.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 31^st, 2011.