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KARACHI, May 27: At a time when various parts of the city are experiencing an acute water shortage, the KWSB's new recovery drive is causing hardship to even those who have already cleared their water charges.
Those who have been suffering on account of the KWSB campaign against defaulters are the residents of apartment buildings as main water connections of their buildings are being disconnected by the water utility tax officials to pressure those who have not paid their water dues.
Such actions are, however, being resisted by the residents of apartment buildings on the plea that why those who have paid their water charges should suffer at the cost of defaulters residing in their projects.
Although an attempt to disconnect the main connection of Ambreen Apartments, situated in Gulshan-i-Iqbal's Block 2, was made by the officials of the KWSB's tax department on Wednesday, it was, however, thwarted by the residents of the building as they managed to convince the officials that their action will deprive even those who are paid their water charges.
Terming the KWSB's tax officials move of disconnecting main water connections of the apartment building 'illogical' and 'unjust', a resident of the building said if the KWSB officials want to recover water dues from defaulters, they should evolve some mechanism of disconnecting water connections of only defaulters, instead of punishing others for no fault of theirs.
A similar complaint was received from Al-Iram Foundation, Buffer Zone, where residents said that the KWSB officials were threatening them to cut off water connections.
SHORTAGE: Various parts of the city on Thursday faced an acute water shortage partly owing to faulty water distribution system and partly because of frequent unannounced load-shedding being resorted to by KESC in the city.
The absence of piped water, on the one hand, added to the miseries of the residents of water-starved localities in the current hot and sultry weather and, on the other, gave a boost to the sale of water by private tankers.
Residents of various multi-storied buildings complained that despite having water in their under-ground tanks, they cannot pump it to their overhead tanks in the wake of frequent power failures taking place in their localities since the advent of summer season.
Most of such complaints have been received from huge housing complexes, such as Liaquatabad's Al-Azam Square and Al-Karam Square, Gulshan-i-Iqbal's Hassan Square, Cosy Homes, Erum Centre, Erum Apartments, Erum Palace, Civic View and Dashtiar apartment buildings.
Complaints of persisting water shortage have also been received from Clifton's Block 2, Gulshan-i-Iqbal's blocks 2 and 4-A, Federal B' Area's Hussainabad, Sharifabad, Liaquatabad's Sindhi Hotel area, Kharadar, Mehmoodabad, Gizri, Jinnah and Al-Hamra cooperative housing societies.
Residents of the affected localities complained that in the absence of water they have no choice but to either buy private tankers at exorbitant rates or consume sub-soil unhygienic water at the cost of their health.
According to residents of the affected localities, private tankers taking undue advantage of persisting water shortage had been charging between Rs500 and Rs600 per tanker.
Complaints of acute water shortage have also been received from various sectors of Orangi, Baldia, Surjani and North Karachi townships. A number of councillors and union councils' nazims of Orangi and Baldia complained that most parts of their townships are being supplied scant supply for the last one week and as result residents of the affected sectors have no choice but to drink sub-soil unhygienic water at the cost of their health.
