KARACHI, June 3: The hydrants owned by the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board in different localities are mainly responsible for the shortfall in water supply in those areas.
This was conceded by the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board chief engineer, Khalid Malik, at a City Council session on Monday.
He added that if load was reduced on hydrants in Gulberg, North Nazimabad, Gulshan-i-Iqbal and Jamshed towns, water supply to these areas, as well as adjoining towns, would improve considerably.
He informed the City Council members, at whose session he appeared for the second consecutive day, that the water tankers, run by the Rangers in the city, supplied about three million gallons of water per day.
He said that in Baldia, Orangi, Shershah and SITE a new formula had been worked out in consultation with town Nazims which would improve the water supply of these areas in a few days.
Answering the questions of the City Council members, the KWSB chief engineer explained that about 492 million gallons of water were supplied to Karachi from the Hub Dam, the Indus River and Dum Loti.
“At present, the city faces a shortfall of 115 million gallons of water per day. The government has launched a Rs6.5 billion K-III project which will be completed in three years and will generate at least 100 million gallons of water per day.”
He, however, noted that in three years the city’s demand for water would have also increased and there would still be a shortfall of 32 million gallons of water per day.
He pointed out that the shortfall would be overcome by another KWSB programme under which at least 40 per cent of water loss would be prevented.
“Water leakage accounts for only 10-15 per cent of the total water loss. The rest is, however, due to illegal connections and evaporation.”
Mr Malik said that under a new KWSB plan old pipelines would be replaced with the new ones, leaks would be plugged and those who indulged in water theft would be dealt with strictly. He added that little could be done to control the evaporation loss.
Emphasizing the need for equitable distribution of water in all towns, he urged the elected representatives to help the KWSB overcome the teething problems of the new system.
The members of the City Council, however, remained unconvinced and attributed the shortage of water in the city to the inefficiency of the KWSB.
Imran Bhagpati, UC Nazim from Mehmodabad, deplored that despite the presence of a Treatment Plant of KWSB (TP-2) in Mehmoodabad all the service stations of multinational companies and nurseries at Sharea Faisal used potable water directly from the main line.—PPI
Meanwhile, the managing director of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, Brig Behram Khan, directed the officials concerned to implement the Lyari Town water supply improvement action plan, adds our staff reporter, adds our staff reporter.
At a meeting on Monday, he directed the Lyari Town executive engineer to ensure that KWSB officials remained present at the Bihar pumping station of the Lyari Town so that water complaints could be sorted out without delay.
He said the KWSB would take action against all those who pilfered water.
The KWSB managing director said the water schedule be posted at prominent places at offices so that consumers could note exactly when they would receive their supply. He said that all regional centres must also keep registers where consumers could register their complaints. He added that it should also be ensured that the complaints are redressed without delay.
P&T society: Residents of the Postal & Telegraph Cooperative Society in Korangi have been facing acute water shortage for the last several days, mainly due to the apathetic attitude of the KWSB authorities.
The office-bearers of the residents’ welfare society complained that since the beginning of the summer season, water shortage problem in their area has become much more severe.
People said that the amount of water being supplied is not enough to meet their daily household needs.
“Despite promises made by concerned officials for the solution of our problems, water shortage is still a big problem in our area,” they added.—PPI
