KARACHI: Electricity breakdowns create water crisis
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, April 22: Almost the entire city will face an acute water shortage on Tuesday in the wake of a prolonged power breakdown that occurred at Dhabeji’s pumping station at 2.25pm on Monday and as a result of which the city received a short supply of 38 million gallons of water.
It was for the second consecutive day that pumping of water to the city from the Indus source was disrupted owing to power breakdowns at the Dhabeji pumping station.
The city’s overall supply position, which had deteriorated following a shortfall of about 14mgd of water in the wake of Sunday’s power failure at Dhabeji pumping station, will further aggravate on Tuesday as the Monday’s power failure at the pumping station has increased the overall shortage of water to the tune of 52mgd.
Admitting that there will be an acute water shortage in many parts of the city on Tuesday, the KWSB sources said that pumping of water to the city from Dhabeji pumping station’s four pumps remained suspended from 2.25pm to 3.10pm.
The pumping of water to the city from two pumps of the pumping station was restored at 3.10pm and from all the four pumps at 5.30pm on Monday, the sources said, adding that since Monday’s power breakdown at Dhabeji pumping station had further widened the gap between supply and demand, some more localities of the city would experience water shortage on Tuesday.
The localities, which either went dry or received scant supply of water on Monday in the wake of Sunday’s two-hour power breakdown at Dhabeji pumping station, included Korangi, Landhi, Shah Faisal Colony, Malir, Khokhrapar and several other parts of Old City Area.
Private water tankers continued to do a roaring business in the water-starved localities, charging between Rs500 and 600 per tanker.
