Qayyumabad theft of Akhtar Colony water leads to protest

Frustrated residents of Akhtar Colony take to the streets to protest against water and electricity shortage at 3pm.

KARACHI: For the third time in a week, frustrated residents of Akhtar Colony took to the streets in a bid to protest against the water and electricity shortage at 3pm on Monday. Water board officials explained that their share was being siphoned off by Qayyumabad.

Public transport buses and cargo containers were forced to park as barriers, leading to the third blockade of main Korangi road this week, bringing cars to halt for nearly an hour. More than a hundred protestors chanted, “We want water. We deserve water,” as they forced the cars at the traffic signals to shut their engines.

When The Express Tribune contacted the Karachi Water and Sewage Board for an explanation, its vice chairman Syed Khalid Ahmad said that the main problem was the distribution of water between Akhtar Colony and Qayyumabad. “The people of Qayyumabad are taking the share of Akhtar Colony’s water and that is why the locality is deprived of water,” he explained.

The machine that pumps water to Akhtar Colony is located at Qayyumabad. “We have prepared a schedule for water distribution according to which both localities get water on alternate days, but the people of Qayyumabad are not following it,” he said.

The conflict is not new. According to Ahmed, it first surfaced six months back but the KWSB stepped in. “We convened a meeting of the elders and influentials of Qayyumabad and Akhtar Colony and they agreed to a schedule but then the people of Qayyumabad reneged.”

The water pumping machine in Qayyumabad works under the supervision of KWSB officials but according to the authority, armed residents force them to divert Akhtar Colony’s water to Qayyumabad by threatening them. “We have decided to call a meeting of the elders and influentials once again to resolve the issue,” he said.

The anger of Akhtar Colony residents is palpable. Humza Khan, a 20-year-old protestor, was carrying a placard that said: “We won’t stay quiet. It is our right to have clean water.” He led a group of young boys and went up to the cars stuck in the traffic jam and said, “We live with families, water is a necessity. Until water is supplied we will continue to demonstrate our plight and voice our concerns. We won’t stay quiet. We won’t let them treat us like this”.

Cars coming from the Expressway went up the ramp of the KPT interchange only to discover other cars making dangerous U-turns on the flyover and heading straight at them in the one-way lane.

One of the police inspectors on duty, Mohammad Javeed Iqbal, remained in his mobile unit and told The Express Tribune that, “They are protesting peacefully. If they do not vacate the road in the next half an hour, or harass the public transport, we will take charge.

“We have forwarded their complaints to the authorities. These people believe that Korangi district has stopped the water supply deliberately. There’s not a lot you can do right now.”

The traffic bottleneck persisted for a long time. Ahmed Tauseef, a protestor, said that they believe that this was the only way to get the government’s attention and tell the rest of the citizens what Akhtar Colony is going through.

CM takes note of water shortage

Taking notice of acute water shortages in Karachi, Sindh Chief Minster Qaim Ali Shah directed the managing director of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) on Monday to take immediate action against officials responsible for the water shortage. The CM stressed that the KWSB officials must visit the areas that are facing water shortage and respond to the complaints of the residents. Shah also asked the managing director of KWSB for a report in this regard.

With additional reporting by fawad shah and PPI

Published in The Express Tribune, October 12^th, 2010.