‘City gets only half the water it needs’

Sindh government informed the provincial assembly that water shortage in Karachi will continue till the completion of the grand water supply project K4 in Karachi, Sindh Local Government Department Parliamentary Secretary Salim Baloch said.

At present the water requirement of the city is 1,200 million gallons per day (MGD), however, only 600 mgd is available from two government water sources, Baloch said replying to a question from Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) MPA Hashim Raza.

If the leakage is taken into account, only 500mgd of water reaches the consumers via pipelines, Baloch said.

Raza said that water is not being provided fairly in Landhi, Korangi. Illegal water connections from Bin Qasim have been taken for companies. Nine Illegal booster pumps are being run on the basis of political influence.

He said that according to the rules of the Karachi Water and Sewage Board, booster pumps cannot be installed on the main line.

Baloch said that there is a shortage of water in the city due to summer. He said that the problem of water shortage in the city cannot be solved until the K4 project is completed. He said that at present the citizens have to survive on alternate days water supply.

He said that booster pumps are not illegal and have been installed by water board. MQM-P MPA Sadaqat Hussain also presented a call-attention notice regarding water shortage in his constituency. He said that since the new executive engineer came, water supply has been suspended. A 24- inch diameter line is running in the area, but only as much water as the three-inch line is being supplied.

Read Sindh govt announces Rs700b development outlay

He has demanded not only to dismiss the XEN in Orangi Town but also to take action against him. He said that water supply is the responsibility of Sindh government.

He said that water is not being provided in his constituency in Orangi Town for 90 days. Baloch said that the Water Board is trying for fair distribution of water. He assured the House that strong action will be taken against elements involved in illegal connections.

Another MQM-P MPA Ali Khurshid said that he had raised the issue of water shortage in a call-attention notice on Friday. However, protesting the absence of the Local Government Minister, he had withdrawn his notice.

He said that there are more than 150 illegal connections. New connections are given by taking a bribe of Rs4000,000. He said that water is not being provided in Orangi Town for 22 days. He appealed to address the issue of water shortage in the city in a serious manner.

Revenue Minister Makhdoom Mehboob Zaman while answering various written and supplementary questions, said that 90 per cent of the records of the Revenue Department have been computerized.

During the proceedings of the House, Provincial Minister for Miners and Mineral Development Shabbir Bajarani said on a personal point of clarification that the Sindh Chief Minister had formed a ministerial committee on Karoonjhar and this committee had also visited the area. The committee prepared a report on the opinion and situation of local population.

The provincial minister said that since 2018 no mining lease has been given on Karoonjhar. The Sindh government cannot ignore the wishes of the people. He said that a case has been sent to UNESCO to include Karoonjhar in the archeology list.

Later, the meeting of the Sindh Assembly was adjourned till Tuesday morning.