KARACHI, June 21: Demonstrations against the persisting water shortage in the areas hooked to the Hub source continued on Saturday with the water utility organisation blaming the KESC for such a situation.
According to the city government’s water and sanitation department’s deputy managing director (technical services), Suleman Chandio, frequent disruptions of power supply to the major pumping stations has been resulting into suspension of water supply to a number of localities including sprawling townships of Baldia, Orangi, New Karachi, North Karachi and Surjani Town, since June 15.
Agitating residents of Baldia Town took to streets raising slogans against the officials of both the water and power utilities. The flow of vehicular traffic was also disrupted where at least two such demonstrations were held.
According to officials of the W&S department, water to Baldia Town was being supplied on Saturday as per the schedule when a power failure occurred at North-East Karachi (old) pumping station, causing suspension of supply.
“In fact there was no power supply at the NEK (old) from 5.55am to 9am, causing a shortfall of 3.61 million gallons of water,” the W&S department official claimed.
As soon as the managing director of the W&S department came to know that water supply of Baldia Town had been affected owing to the power failure at the NEK (old), he requested the rangers to provide additional 50 tankers to cope with the shortage, the sources said.
A similar protest demonstration was staged on Friday night at North Karachi’s Godhra Colony. Vehicular traffic was also disrupted for more than one hour as the protesters belonging to North Karachi’s sectors 11-F, 11-G and Godhra Colony remained on the road chanting slogans against the officials of the W&S department and the Nazims of the union councils concerned.
Complaints about the persisting water shortage have also been received from residents of Malir Cantonment, Khokarapar, Malir, Clifton’s blocks 4 and 5, Gulshan-i-Iqbal’s blocks 10, 13-D, Korangi No 1 1/2 (Q Area), Mohammadi Colony, Azizabad, PECHS block 2, North Karachi’s sectors 5-F, 5-G, 5-E, parts of Surjani Town and Nazimabad No 1, Pak Colony.
Attributing the problem of Orangi, Baldia, North Karachi, Malir Cantonment, Khokarapar and Malir to frequent power failures at the pumping stations responsible for supplying water to the localities, a senior official of the W&S department claimed that power failures at the pumping stations of those localities had become a matter of routine since June 15.
Giving details of power failures which occurred at these pumping stations, he said that on June 15 there was no electricity at NEK (K-2) from 6.30am to 9.45pm and at NEK (old) from 9.50am to 10.25pm; power supply on June 16 was disrupted at the Dhabeji (K-2) and Greater Karachi pumping stations from 5.30am to 6.15am; there was no electricity on June 17 at the Dumlottee pumping station from 5am to 7am; power supply was disrupted on June 18 at NEK (old) from 6.20pm to 6.25pm and again from 6.55pm to 8pm; the same day there was no electricity at the NEK (K-2) pumping station from 7.40pm to 8pm and at the Dumlottee pumping station from 11.40am to 2.15pm; the Dumlottee pumping station again experienced power failure on June 19 from 3pm to 6.25pm and the same pumping station was without electricity on June 20 from 7pm to 8pm, besides there was no electricity at NEK (Old) on June 21 from 5.55am to 9am.
Meanwhile, residents of Clifton’s blocks 4 an 5 went without water for the 11th consecutive day on Saturday.
The localities where water supply remained suspended on Saturday under the weekly water-holiday system included all blocks of PECHS, KDA Scheme-1, Sharfabad, Karachi Television Centre, Karachi Administration Cooperative Housing Society, Civic Centre and its adjoining localities, Mehmoodabad No 5, Liaquatabad, Gharibabad, Furqanabad, Bandhani Colony, parts of Nazimabad, Liaquat National Hospital and Aga Khan Hospital.
CONTAMINATED: Residents of North Nazimabad’s Block T complained that they had been receiving contaminated water for the last one week.
KARACHI, June 21: Demonstrations against the persisting water shortage in the areas hooked to the Hub source continued on Saturday with the water utility organisation blaming the KESC for such a situation.
