KARACHI, March 17: Various parts of the city either went totally dry or received scant supply of water on Monday owing to a short supply of 40 million gallons of water from Dhabeji’s Phase-III pump house.
The short supply of water together with the weekly water-holiday system, implemented in certain localities hooked to the Indus source, on Monday, gave boost to the sale of private water tankers which did a roaring business in the water-starved localities.
The city had received 40mgd less water on Sunday as pumping of water to the city had remained suspended from Dhabeji (Phase-II) pump house for one hour (from 6.30am to 7.30am ) due to an interruption in power supply.
The localities which suffered most on Monday in the wake of short supply of water, included Landhi, Korangi, Shah Faisal Town, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Adamjee Nagar, Jinnah Cooperative Housing Society, Bangalore Town, Al-Hamra Society, PECHS, Sindhi Muslim Cooperative Housing Society, Khudadad Colony, Jamshed Road and several areas of Saddar Town.
Moreover, the other localities which went dry on Monday under the weekly water-holiday system included Nazimabad, all blocks of Federal B’ Area, North Nazimabad, Shadman Town and Buffer Zone.
Since October last the city government’s water and sanitation department had been suspending water supply, once in a week, to the localities getting water from the Indus source to divert the same to the localities hooked to the Hub source.
Taking undue advantage of city’s water situation, private tankers charged Rs450 to Rs500 per tanker in the water-starved localities.
Many tankers was seen shuttling between the hydrants and the affected localities, making the roads slippery owing to their leaking nozzles.
Several main thoroughfares and busy roads of the city have already developed deep craters due to frequent movement of water tankers which fetch water from various private, as well as, government hydrants.
Thousands of tankers which draw water daily from hydrants, situated at Muslimabad, behind Civic Centre (popularly known as LSR), Federal B’ Area’s water pump, Sakhi Hassan, Malir’s Jamia Millia, Yasinabad and other places, on the one hand, have already ruined a number of major roads, particularly those situated in their periphery and, on the other hand, have become a main source of fatal accidents in the city.
Meanwhile, complaints of persisting water shortage have also been received from the residents of Pak Colony, Jamshed Quarters and Hyderabad Colony.
Residents of the Buffer Zone’s sector 16-A deplored that although they had been experiencing acute water shortage for the last one week, the officials of the city government’s water and sanitation department have not taken any measures to restore normal supply despite a number of complaints lodged with them. They demanded of the city Nazim and the W and SD’s executive district officer to intervene into the matter to help resolve the continuing water issue as in the absence of water pipes they had no other choice but to either consume sub-soil, unhygienic water or buy private tankers at exorbitant rates.
CLOSURE: The localities where water supply will remain suspended on Tuesday, include Clifton, Gizri, Dehli Colony, Punjab Colony, Shireen Jinnah Colony, Bhutta Village, Jinnah Post-graduate Medical Centre, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases and the National Institute of Child Health and its adjacent areas.
