KARACHI: Many city localities to go dry for 48 hours
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, May 25: At a time when several parts of the city have already been in the grip of acute water shortage in the current hot and sultry weather for the last one week, various other localities will go dry for the next 48 hours owing to a burst that occurred in a 84-inch dia pipeline of Syphon-19, near the Karachi University.
A spokesman for the KWSB said that repair work of the bursting pipeline that supplies 25 million gallons of water to the COD Filter Plant from Indus source would begin on Sunday, hence supply to a number of localities would be badly affected for the next 48 hours.
The localities which will either go completely dry or receive scant supply during the next 48 hours include all cooperative housing societies, Lines Area, Jut Land, Saddar, Mehmoodabad, Chaneser Goth, Azam Basti, Liaquatabad, Clifton, Shireen Jinnah Colony, Kharadar, Mithadar and their adjoining localities.
A spokesman for the KWSB said that the 84-inch dia pre- stressed water supply line of Syphon-19 that supplies water to the COD filter plant from Indus source had developed some leakage near the Karachi University and its repairing work would begin on Sunday.
SCARCITY: Complaints of the persisting water shortage continued to flood newspaper offices from various parts of the city on Saturday.
The hard-hit areas include North Karachi’s Sector 11-C-One (Sir Syed Town), Clifton’s Block 2, Bahadurabad 3, Muslimabad, Catholic Colony, Adamjee Nagar, Bangalore Town, Al-Hamra Society, Jinnah Society, Mohammad Ali Society and parts of Lyari.
Residents of North Karachi’s Sir Syed Town complained that although their locality had been without water for the last 12 days, the KWSB had failed to restore the supply even on the sacred day of Eid Milad-un-Nabi and as hence they had to consume sub-soil unhygienic water at the cost of their health.
They said that when they brought the lingering water issue of the locality to the notice of concerned officials of the KWSB, they were told that their turn of getting the supply would now come on Monday which meant that their locality would continue to be deprived of water for another couple of days.
They said that although their locality was supplied water after every 72 hours, KWSB officials often failed to ensure smooth and uninterrupted supply for weeks together.
Suspecting some foul play in the water distribution system of their locality, a perturbed resident of the Township demanded of the City Nazim to order an inquiry into the matter and direct the KWSB to provide them water on alternative days, instead of supplying them water after every 72 hours.
Meanwhile, taking undue advantage of persisting water shortage, private water tankers continued to do a roaring business in the water-starved localities, charging exorbitant rates ranging between Rs400 and 500 per tanker.
