12 April 2004	Monday	21 Safar 1425

KARACHI, April 11: Almost half of the city will either go dry or receive scant supply of water on Monday in the wake of a seven-hour water closure by the KWSB for want of repair works at Dhabeji pumping houses.

Pumping of water to the city from Dhabeji's two pumping houses (Phase-III and K-2) will remain suspended from 10am to 5pm on Monday, thereby causing a shortfall of 70 million gallons of water.

The localities which would be affected due to the closure are Lyari Town, Kharadar, Mithadar, Old City areas, Garden East and West, Bhutta Village, Mehmoodabad, Clifton, North Nazimabad, Federal B' Area, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Gulistan-i-Jauhar and several areas in Jamshed Town.

However, the localities hooked to Hub Dam source will continue to get normal supply during the closure period. Although a KWSB spokesman said that supply to the affected localities would be restored at 5pm after the completion of the repair work at the Dhabeji's feeders, insiders said that as a matter of fact water after being pumped from the Dhabeji's Phase- III and K-2 pumping houses would take at least 10 hours to reach the city's pipeline network.

On Sunday too, many parts of the city faced acute water shortage. Complaints regarding acute shortage of water were received from Jutland Lanes, Mehmoodabad, PIB Colony, Martin Quarters, Jehangir Quarters, Bhimpura, Ranchorre Lines, Burnes Road, Haquani Chowk and Gizri.

Residents of the affected localities said that in the absence of water they had no choice but to consume sub-soil unhygienic water at the cost of their health.

OVERFLOW: Filthy water gushing out from a choked storm-water drain has spread on a portion of main University Road, near Busy Bee restaurant, causing hindrance in the flow of traffic and an unhygienic condition in the vicinity.

Attributing the choking of the storm water drain to dumping of oily and greasy material by the mechanics of the up-country bound big buses, sources in the KWSB said that the terminus of the up-country bound buses set up illegally on either side of the main University Road, near Old Sabzi Mandi, had become a nuisance for the public.

The buses not only remain parked on the storm-water drains, running on either side of the main University Road, but often create hindrance in the smooth flow of traffic, they added.