Karachi mayor announces plan to shut hydrants, end tanker water supply

Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab has announced a major policy shift aimed at dismantling what he described as the city’s “tanker mafia”, saying all water hydrants and tanker-based distribution will be phased out and replaced with a direct pipeline supply system.

During a high-level briefing with the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC), Wahab directed officials to gradually shut down the city’s seven functional water hydrants. He said residents should receive water at their doorsteps through improved infrastructure rather than relying on costly and temporary tanker services.

Despite the hydrants generating around Rs300 million in monthly revenue, the mayor said their contracts expired last year and would not be renewed. He added that tanker-based supply was neither sustainable nor fair to citizens.

To manage water shortages during the transition, Wahab said the city would introduce an alternating-day water supply schedule for different neighbourhoods.

Read: Rs200b still not enough for Karachi, says Murtaza Wahab

Experts believe up to 30% of Karachi’s water is being stolen through illegal hydrants operating with the covert backing of influential political elements and a complicit bureaucracy. “The tanker mafia is looting the city’s water,” he said, adding that the new policy aims to end this practice permanently.

Separately, the mayor also met a delegation from the Controller General of Accounts to discuss wide-ranging administrative reforms at the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC).

Following the successful migration of KMC’s payroll system to SAP, Wahab said the administration was now digitising the pension system to ensure greater transparency for retired employees.

He added that the city was moving towards a fully digital financial model. This includes shifting the collection of fines, rents and development payments to online platforms and integrating the entire development portfolio with SAP to improve project monitoring and fund management.