Old city area plagued with water woes

The port city is plagued with a clean water problem but some areas of the metropolis have it worse than others. For instance, the Old City area, where the water distribution has collapsed due to deterioration and decades of neglect.

Areas which comprise the Old City in Karachi are at the farthest end in terms of water delivery, as per urban planners and locals, and thus those who reside in those areas have to fulfil their water needs by relying on water porters, colloquially referred to as mashikis, who travel door to door with a leather bag full of water. However, that is not a sustainable solution.

In this regard, Nausheen Khatoom, a long-term resident of Pakistan Chowk, which is part of the Old City area, highlighted the plight of living in the locality. “The water pipes are visibly rotten, so it is not surprising that they are not fit to distribute water efficiently,” remarked Nausheen, further adding that it was a shame that for decades people of the Old City area had been demanding access to water but those demands seem to fall on deaf ears.

Whether it is Pakistan Chowk, or other localities in the Old City area, like Bohrapir, Ranchod Line, Burns Road, Kharadar, Meetha Dar, and Bolton Market, dilapidated water lines and the consequent inefficient water supply plagues affects all.

Muhammad Ayub, a 65-year-old resident of Burns Road, while talking to the Express Tribune, expressed his frustration at the fact that people on this side of Karachi had to rely on the centuries old practice of mashiki to get access to such a crucial natural resource. “Whatever water flows through these dilapidated lines is probably hazardous. Therefore, all credit goes to the government that we are forced to pay on a daily basis for the water we drink and use,” the elderly citizen criticised.

Like Nausheen, Muhammad too was of the view that politicians only used the populace for votes and when it came to delivering on their promises “the politicians are nowhere to be seen.”

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Faheem-ul-Zaman, a former administrator of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), is familiar with the plight of the residents of the Old City area. According to Faheem, the water lines in the area were installed in the British era and no one has thought of placing new ones ever since. “Even though two main water lines were installed here to solve the water issue, a 66-inch line in 1984 and a 24-inch one prior to that; they are not enough,” the former KMC administrator asserted, further adding that the crisis has been further exacerbated due to people installing illegal connections in the already semi-functional water lines.

Given that the last water line installed in the area was nearly 4 decades ago, urban planners feel that only new water lines are the solution. Sadia Jabeen, an urban planner and a senior civil engineer at the University of Karachi, suggested that to solve the water scarcity in the Old Area the water board should install new water lines as part of Karachi’s master plan.

Farhan Anwar, another urban planner based in the city, agrees. However, Farhan further suggested: “Apart from new water lines, there is an immediate need to devolve power to the local governments so they can be on top of issues such as water scarcity and address them in a timely fashion.”

Farhan’s suggestion is music to the ears of Muhammad Dilawar, former town nazim from the old city area. “We need to realise that water being delivered on push-carts and on the back of labourers in leather bags is a practice of prehistoric times. A city of Karachi’s stature and its residents should not be subjected to such a plight just because the government and the water board are inefficient,” he demanded while talking to The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2024.