KARACHI, April 7: Private tankers had a field day on Friday in water-starved localities. Residents of the affected localities complained that private tankers taking undue advantage of the water shortage charged between Rs 500 and 600 per tanker.

People complained that in the absence of piped water, they had no choice but to consume sub-soil unhygienic water at the cost of their health.

Though the KWSB officials claim that only a few localities of the city, especially the tail-end areas, are experiencing water shortage, owing to diversion of 15 mgd Indus water to the localities hooked to the Hub dam source, water shortage complaints continue to pour in from many areas.

“In fact, we are nowadays diverting 15 mgd Indus water — 10mgd from Ajmair Nagri and 5mgd from Board office pumping stations — to the localities hooked to the Hub source to offset their water shortage created in the wake of drying Hub dam reservoir from where supply has reduced from 80 mgd to mere 35 mgd,” said the officials, adding prevailing water shortage would come to an end with the commissioning of the K-III project.

Most of complaints pertaining to persisting water shortage have been received from Pak Colony, various blocks of Landhi’s Area 2-B, Lines Area’s NC and Army apartment buildings, Clifton’s Block 2, Gulshan-i-Iqbal’s blocks 2, parts of Block 4-A, blocks 13-D, 13-D/1, North Nazimabad’s blocks B (Hussain D’ Silva Town), C, D, S and I, Golimar, Mehmoodabad, Gizri, different sectors of Orangi Town, Baldia and parts of Shershah and SITE industrial area.