Twin terrors of water and power in summer

WHAT characterises our summer of 2006? One asks this question in the face of repeated reminders that we are in the midst of a tougher than the last summer. Despite the official assurances that we are steadily moving towards better lifestyles, one raises this question somewhat early in the season, which is going to get stretched until October particularly with the ongoing KESC’s performance.

There is this general perception that it has been a particularly tiring April and frustrating May for this city. And even from the signs of the times, national and regional, I do not need to go into the details of what we have lived through in these last eight weeks or so. Suffice it to say that it has been almost a punishing experience. And punished for what, one may respond with indignation.

As if all the indications of civic inadequacy and infrastructure handicaps of a humiliating nature were (or are) not a battering enough, there are now these stories, reports, interpretations and analyses that there is lingering row between the coalition partners in the Sindh government. Obviously, this has injected an unusual degree of uncertainty in the province, and in particular in Karachi. One is hoping that the local bodies performance in Karachi and Hyderabad would be superior to what it was in the case of the previous team. Now the city government and the provincial government are from the MQM; this being a clear and distinct advantage and the fruit of which should benefit the city and society, generally speaking.

So while one waits for the outcome of the efforts to resolve the crisis, with eyes focused on Islamabad and Karachi, (and London, too if one may add) one hopes that the weather will improve sooner than later. The political climate will bring better conditions for the people. However summer's trying conditions will prevail, and as if to search for some respite, a colleague looked up the website of the Pakistan Met Office to find out what kind of summer we would have this year or rather what kind of monsoon? Would there be rainfall?

The met office website made it clear that its seasonal forecast would not be available before the mid of June 2006. Which means it is at least another fortnight to have any clue what sort of monsoon will unfold. What will the clouds bring? One can one’s fingers crossed meanwhile.

Having said this, one should keep one’s fingers crossed on some other issues too. This is one of those summers unfolding, unleashing a kind of misery and melancholy too, perhaps. One does not refer to the Nishtar Park tragedy that struck in April for which a strike had been called for Saturday. The twin terrors that Karachiites live with, amidst other frustrations and failures, are those of water and power. So far this summer, power woes have outstripped those of water. Water problems were faced by residents in some localities, and in many instances they still continue. Somewhat mercifully surprising that there has been no official outbreak of gastroenteritis or cholera in Karachi, which is faced on a large disturbing scale in neighbouring Hyderabad and Faisalabad. But Dawn reported on Friday that over 100 cases of gastroenteritis were being reported at local hospitals daily. And from the areas in Karachi from where these reports are coming in reveal that water being supplied through tankers was contaminated.

But wait there was a time when contaminated (read sewerage) water was a problem that the backward areas of the city experienced. Now this is a problem that has hit places in Nazimabad and Clifton as well. In fact, I am told that some residents in Nazimabad No 4 have been forced to pay for new water supply lines as the concerned authorities have been unable to solve the problem of water contamination through sewerage lines. Even the water tankers were supplying unsafe water. The concerned authorities did take notice of the problem but said that they could not help really, until October this year. Helpless citizens became brave!

And see what happened in Clifton area (in Block 9) in the Naval Housing Scheme last month. Thousands of residents were getting contaminated water, obviously smelly and coloured, for drinking purposes, and the reason was that sewerage water had entered the water supply lines. For about three weeks or so, the problem lasted, and harassed residents bought water through tankers, who had put up their prices.

In all this prolonged suffering, there was also a curtailment of normal supplies of drinking water to the filter plant located in the Naval Housing Scheme area. Of course, there was the financial aspect that worried the residents (one small family spent about Rs3,500 for water tankers in that period). But more worrisome was the fear that there has come a time when the sewerage water has begun to appear in the water pipelines of Clifton.

There is another fear that has surfaced on this water pollution front, and this is with reference to the Dawn story of 26th May which says that reservoirs water is not safe for drinking purposes in Karachi. This has been stated by the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency in a recent report sent to the chief secretary.

In view of the gastroenteritis cases in Sindh, this warning is being taken very seriously. The warnings are based on a recent survey of four canals off taking from the Kotri Barrage, the last controlling point of the Indus.

Keep in mind the routine mechanical nature of news reports which reveal daily that there is a water shortage in various localities of the city forcing residents to either purchase water from private tankers or consume sub soil unhygienic water.

What this report overlooks is yet another option: steadfastly suffer. Yes, suffer in summer. That is one view that an increasing number of yes, Karachiites have about living in this city, in this season. Summer holidays are almost here as far as schools and colleges go. With this environment and an economics ambience that will come with the budgets descending upon us from the first week of June, the impact of prices and market manipulations will be in evidence.

One can go on endlessly profiling summer 2006. Not just in Karachi, but elsewhere in the land there are worrying signs that reflect the hardships of the season and the grim challenges that the establishment and its system are facing. But wait! Where are the relaxing smiles and grins, for summer? Where is that fun the summer should promise? It is in the fact that the mangoes have arrived. On that note alone, there is every reason to feel elated (even if your sugar level is high). For mangoes alone, gluttony stands condoned! dear citizens.