Water crisis turns absurd in Buffer Zone, Karachi

In the heart of a city parched by crisis, where families line up for hours to collect a few buckets of water, a shocking contradiction unfolds. In Buffer Zone, Sector 15-B, clean water gushes unchecked from a broken pipeline — not for minutes or hours, but for weeks — as officials look the other way. While residents endure dry taps and rising desperation, thousands of gallons of fresh water are wasted daily due to a severely damaged line belonging to the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC). The irony is painful, the consequences devastating - and the silence from authorities, deafening.

According to residents, the damaged water line has been leaking for weeks, causing massive water wastage and severe damage to nearby roads. They allege that despite repeated complaints, KWSC officials have failed to repair the line, indicating what they describe as "criminal negligence" and inefficiency on the part of the KWSC. They find themselves caught between an acute water shortage and the unchecked wastage of thousands of gallons.

"The roads are crumbling, the water is flowing nonstop, and yet no one comes to fix it," said one resident. Locals also accused the "tanker mafia" of exploiting the situation, selling water at arbitrarily-fixed inflated rates to desperate families while fresh water continues to go to waste in the open.

"It's a double blow for us: we're forced to buy expensive water while watching clean water flood our streets," another resident complained.

The crisis, however, extends beyond the water shortage. Byroads in the area are also in poor condition, with broken streets and heaps of garbage blocking several lanes. Residents say that once well-maintained green belts along the footpaths have also deteriorated, with little to no upkeep from municipal authorities.