08 January 2004	Thursday	15 Ziqa'ad 1424

HYDERABAD, Jan 7: Residents of Hyderabad are experiencing an acute shortage of drinking water due to the closure of Kotri Barrage canals, which supply water to the city.

Sources told this correspondent on Wednesday, that the irrigation department had asked the district government to make alternate arrangements for water intake from the New Phulelli Canal for 10 days as the stone pitching work was underway on the Akram Wah.

The Kotri Barrage canals were closed on Dec 26, 2003, for 15 days. It is feared that the crisis will deepen if water was not released in the Akram Wah by Jan.

When the managing director of the Water and Sanitation Agency was contacted for his comment on the water situation, he conceded that the storage capacity of Wasa was for 10 days whereas the period of the closure of the canals was 15 days.

He said this had compelled Wasa to reduce water supply to two-third. He further said there were regular power breakdowns of eight to 12 hours, which also affected the water supply.

The official maintained that the people had been informed about the shortage of water due to the closure of the canals. He said the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company chief executive was requested on Jan 3 to exempt Hyderabad Development Authority feeders from shutdowns during the canals' closure.

He said tail-end areas of the city received little water because of the decrease in pumping hours. He said Wasa had hired private water tankers to provide water to some areas facing water shortage.

However, he assured the residents that they would receive their normal quota of water with from Jan 10 when water would be released in the canals. When asked whether there was any move to keep the Akram Wah closed for 10 more days for stone pitching, he said the ongoing water crisis was so severe that Wasa needed water in the Akram Wah on Jan 11. He said Wasa could not take water from the New Phulelli Canal as its water was polluted.

HESCO: Hesco has contradicted the Sindh government claim that it is sending inflated bills to government departments. In a statement issued here on Wednesday, a Hesco spokesman said the bills were being issued according to the meter reading.

He said at a meeting between the Sindh governor and the Wapda chairman held on Jan 17, 2002, it was decided that Wapda would not reduce bills in future and arrears would be cleared as soon as possible.