KARACHI, Oct 29: Chairperson of Shahida Welfare Trust Shahida Farooq has said that till completion of the 100mgd K-3 project, the KWSB should immediately take up the repair of long-pending leakages to cover water shortage to some extent.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, she said Karachi was facing a permanent shortage of 150mgd which would continue to persist even after the completion of the K-3 project in about four years.

Besides plugging of leakages, which would save about 40mgd, the government should undertake yet another bulk water supply project to ensure availability of water through non-traditional sources and creating awareness about better utilization of water so as to gradually reduce the existing marked difference between supply and demand.

She was of the view that incompetence of policy-makers and inefficiency of administrative departments, mismanagement, carelessness and the lack of planning had aggravated the issue. A testimony to this was that proceedings of not a single session of the city council was held without disturbance on the issue of water.

She referred to the seriousness of water shortage in areas like Lyari, Orangi Town, Baldia Town, Surjani, New Karachi, Liaquatabad, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, and Korangi, etc.

The SWT chief called for immediate preparation of a feasibility report regarding installation of desalination plants in the coastal areas, particularly for supply of 5mgd water.

She suggested the trial installation of “Osmosis” tubewells for drawing filtered sub-soil water and said by this way the shortage of water could be met to some extent. She demanded immediate planning for K-4 100mgd project.

She called for immediate allocation of Rs1.5 to Rs2 billion for improving the existing water distribution system and said the system should be made computerised with less human handling.—APP