KARACHI, Nov 8: For the residents of a Lyari locality, like the other Karachiites, Ramazan had always been a blessed, joyous period. They actually used to look forward to the holy month, during which they usually forgot their petty problems and difficulties and took pleasure in offering prayers and reciting Quranic verses.
In Ramazan all they needed, it seemed, was some water and food, which they could consume just before beginning their fasts or immediately after ending it. Come to think of it, throughout the year they didn’t ask for much. But during Ramazan their wants and needs seemed to be reduced to just two essentials — food and water.
Food they are supposed to fetch themselves. So water remains the only essential which is supposed to be provided by the authorities. Every Ramazan the government provided this essential to the locality, albeit in fits and starts. But not this year.
The locality — DD Chowdhary Road, Baghdadi — has been doing without water for the last four months. The people of the area were under the impression that the authorities would take some “special” steps so that they were spared famine-like situation in Ramazan. However, this turned out to be mere wishful thinking.
It’s not that the senior officials and other functionaries are not aware of their problem. The residents have sent a number of applications and reminders to the people who matter.
Some of the important people the applications, and reminders, were sent to are: Justice S. Saeed Ashhad, Justice Haziqul Khairi, K.B. Rind, Fazal-ur-Rehman, Maj Gen Salahuddin, Naimatullah Khan, Shafiqur Rehman Paracha, and Abdul Khaliq Juma. Needless to say, letters were also sent to the senior officials of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board.
According to residents, several attempts were made by them to meet the KWSB’s senior officials face-to-face but failed. Each time they were told the officials that mattered “were not available”. When they pressed the issue they were reminded “there were no fixed timings for the senior staff to meet the public”.
In their letters and reminders the residents of DD Chowdhary Road, Baghdadi, said: “The authorities of the KWSB (Water Wing) failed to restore water supply to the area pointed out earlier and the acute water shortage persisted in our locality for the last four months.”
They claimed they had been using subsoil water, which was injurious to health. “Samples of turbid water were also provided (to the officials),” they said.
The letters, signed by dozens of residents, alleged that the water crisis had deepened after the inception of the “City Government”. Since the advent of this new tier “nobody is prepared to listen to us and redress our problems”.
To the amazement of everyone concerned, added the applications, good quality water was being supplied, without any break, to a lavatory in the area.
