KARACHI: Formula to resolve Hub water crisis fails
By Azizullah Sharif
KARACHI, Aug 18: The newly decided formula for getting water supply from the drying up Hub dam reservoir, whereby both Karachi and Balochistan were to receive water on turn by turn basis, has failed to help resolve the lingering water issue of the localities hooked to the Hub source, the KWSB sources have confirmed.
A high-level committee for the Hub water supply, held recently with Sindh’s additional chief secretary (planning and development) Shahzado Shaikh in the chair and attended by irrigation secretaries of both Sindh and Balochistan and officials of both Wapda and the KWSB, had decided to release 45 million gallons of water per day for three and two consecutive days to the Hub and Lasbella canals.
However, the KWSB officials claimed that though the Wapda officials had started implementing the decision of supplying water to the city for three consecutive days after a gap of every two days about a fortnight back, they had not yet managed to ensure the agreed upon quantity of 45 mgd even for a single day, thereby creating obstacles in supplying water to the sprawling townships of Orangi, Baldia, North Karachi and Surjani.
“In fact, the KWSB has not even once received 45 mgd of water during its three days turn of getting the supply from the Hub source although the concerned officials of Wapda were supposed to release 135 mgd of water to the Hub canal,” the sources said, apprehending that if such a situation continued to persist for another week the KWSB’s alternative arrangements of supplying water to North Karachi and Surjani townships through the Indus source via the Ajmair Nagri pumping station would also collapse.
Asked what other measures were being taken to improve the water supply position of Orangi and Baldia townships as well as some parts of the SITE area which has been experiencing acute water shortage for the last one month, the sources said the work to rehabilitate old ‘Awami’ tanks and construction of some new tanks was progressing well under the supervision of the rangers, besides efforts were being made to increase the number of tankers to ensuring water supply to the water-deficit pockets of those sprawling townships.
Although the KWSB, in cooperation with the rangers, spent a huge amount on constructing a large number of ‘Awami’ tanks in Orangi and Baldia in 1999-2000 when a similar situation had arisen in the wake of continuous dry monsoon seasons in the catchment areas of the Hub dam, the concerned authorities failed to ensure their maintenance after water supply from the Hub source was restored in 2001, and as a result of which most of the tanks became useless.
SUPPLY AFTER 14 YEARS: The 14-year-old water supply problem of a union council area of Lyari Town has been solved as a result of intervention of higher authorities, it is learnt.
The residents of Ali Mohammed Mohalla in Shah Beg Lane Union Council area of Lyari Town will be provided potable water directly through a pumping station near Kharadar after 14 years.
It is further learnt that work on lying an 18-inch diameter pipeline to supply water to the locality, which was halted some time ago, will resume on Tuesday.
The decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the officials concerned and representatives of the area people. The meeting was held a few days ago on the intervention of higher authorities.
The higher authorities took serious note of the suspension of the pipeline laying work which had caused resentment among the area people, particularly young men, who threatened to stage a sit-in on Shah Latif Bhitai Road on Aug 14.
