Gulshan pipelines remain dry after three months

A collusion between top water board officials and the tanker mafia has created an artificial water crisis, leaving taps to run dry in several neighbourhoods of Karachi’s Gulshan-e-Iqbal area.

The water crisis, that has been a bane for area residents for the past three months, also found no reprieve in the holy month of Ramazan.

According to water board engineers, speaking on conditions of anonymity, top officials have illegally redirected Gulshan’s water supply to a nearby hydrant at Nipa Chowrangi. This has left residents at the mercy of expensive water tankers; with not a single drop being siphoned through the government pipelines.

Although, based on the water rotation policy, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) was supposed to hydrate these areas four days a week. The policy, however, was only seen to be implemented until the winters, while the onset of summers heralded disarray in the clockwork of the water board system, leaving the policy to fizzle out.

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A survey conducted by The Express Tribune revealed that the severity of the water crisis varies in different parts of Gulshan-e-Iqbal. The areas where the situation is most severe are 13 D-1, 2, 3, Block-1 and Block-5; where even the area’s mosques and imambargahs have received no pardon from the crisis. Owing to which, residents here are left with either the option to consume contaminated ground-water or buy water tankers that can burn a hole in most wallets.

KWSB supplies water to residential areas of the city through two of its departments: Water Trunk Main (WTM) and the local distribution department. WTM monitors and repairs bunk water supply line installed in the city and supplies water to the local distribution system on a rotation basis. The local distribution department then supplies water to residential places through its own water lines.

An engineer with the water board’s local distribution department shared that the department provides water four days a week on a rotation basis.

“It is obligatory to provide water till one o’clock but only one to two hours of water is provided in the water trunk, which provides water to the residents living in the beginning of Gulshan, but not to the residents living at the end,” alleged another engineer speaking on conditions of anonymity.

According to the KWSB engineers, the distribution system installed in Gulshan-e-Iqbal is mostly in good condition, with the exception of 13 D1-3, Baloch Goth lines. “But new lines are being installed there too with the funds of National Assembly member Alamgir Khan. The development work in this regard will come to an end this week. Following which the water board could supply water from its system to other areas of Gulshan-e-Iqbal,” he told.

Speaking to The Express Tribune the engineer further alleged that illegal connections have also been made in the bulk lines of the trunk main department with the connivance of water board engineers and police. All these illegal connections have been provided to commercial units. If these illegal connections were to be removed and transparency was established in the water hydrant system, the engineer said that it is likely that the water crisis in Gulshan-e-Iqbal would come to an end.

On the other hand, a representative of MD Water Board Media Cell corroborated that there is a clear gap in supply and demand of water in terms of the city’s population. Acknowledging that the city is only being hydrated with a bare 45 per cent of its water need, the spokesperson said that the minister for local government and MD Water Board has directed all the concerned engineers of Water Board to ensure equitable supply of water and resolve the grievances of the citizens on a priority basis.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 2^nd, 2021.