KARACHI, May 17: The city’s water supply position on Saturday assumed an alarming proportion as various localities went dry, adding to the miseries of the people living in affected localities in the current hot and humid weather.
Most of the hard-hit areas belonged to former districts West and Central whose supply was suspended owing to the stoppage of supply from the 48-inch dia pipeline that burst on Thursday.
The localities which went dry on Saturday included Banaras Chowk, Site industrial and residential areas, several tail-end sectors of Baldia Town, Nazimabad No 3, Paposh Nagar and Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
These localities might remain without water on Sunday also if the Water and Sanitation (W&S) department officials failed to repair the damaged pipeline. However, the officials claimed on Saturday that the repair work had already been undertaken and expected to be completed by Sunday.
Meanwhile, alternative arrangements for supplying water to Orangi and Baldia have been made through 66-inch dia pipeline from Khwaja Ajmair Nagri pumping station.
Complaints of scant supply with a low pressure have also been received from different parts of the city.
Other localities which went without water on Saturday as part of the W&S department’s plan of diverting Indus water to the localities hooked to the Hub dam included PECHS blocks 2 and 6, KDA Scheme-1, Sharfabad, Karachi Television Centre, KACH Society, Civic Centre, Mehmoodabad No. 5, Liaquatabad, Gharibabad, Furqanabad, Bandhani Colony, parts of Nazimabad, Liaquat National Hospital and Aga Khan Hospital.
Persisting shortage in various parts of the city gave a boost to the sale of private tankers’ water as the residents of different water-starved localities said that private tankers charged Rs450 to Rs500 per tanker in their locality.
PPP DEMO: Legislators belonging to Pakistan People’s Party on Saturday observed token huger strike against persisting water shortage in different parts of Lyari Town.
The protesters who had set up their camp in front of Karachi Press Club accused the officials of the W&S department of creating artificial water shortage in the town.
The city Nazim, Naimatullah Khan, who visited the strikers’ camp, told the hunger strikers that he had already discussed the issue with Governor Ishratul Ibad and the W&S department’s Executive District Officer, Brig Javaid Ashraf and the latter had assured him that the city’s water supply position would improve with the deployment of rangers at pumping stations and valve chambers.
Later, the city Nazim summoned a meeting of the W&S department’s senior officials to discuss the issue.
RANGERS: Rangers personnel have been deployed at various pumping stations and important valve chambers to provide security to the W&S department officials in regulating water supply system.
It is on the request of W&S department that rangers have either started patrolling or have established their pickets at 30 pumping stations and 41 important valves chambers which have been declared as ‘sensitive’.
The deployment was sought following complaints that a large number of UC Nazims had allegedly tampered with valves, taken illegal water connections from main water lines and even installed unauthorized boosters in various towns.
