KARACHI, May 27: Valve tampering continues unabated in various parts of the city, particularly in the areas of Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Gulshan-i-Iqbal and KDA Scheme-33, adding to the miseries of the residents of the affected localities in the persisting hot and sultry weather.
A number of localities, which went without water for the fourth consecutive day on Sunday, had no choice but to either purchase water from private tankers at exorbitant rates or to consume sub-soil unhygienic water and the cost of their health.
Complaints of persisting water shortage have been received from the residents of Manghopir, Ittehad Town, Pak Colony, Asifabad, Ramswami, Pakistan Chowk, Haqqani Chowk, Baghdadi, Kalri and Nawabad.
The situation is particularly grim for residents of multi-storeyed high-rises in Gulistan-i-Jauhar and Gulshan-i-Iqbal as they cannot even meet their daily water requirements through tankers on an individual basis.
“We continue to get normal supply as long as we grease the palms of the valve-men. But whenever we do not pay this monthly bhatta or reduce the amount, they reduce the pressure of our supply by tampering with the valves,” an office-bearer of a multi-storied apartment building’s welfare association in Gulshan alleged.
Similar complaints are also often received from residents of complexes in Gulistan-i-Jauhar and KDA Scheme-33.
Residents of the affected localities said that they had lodged a number of complaints with the relevant KWSB zone’s chief engineers and executive engineers, yet none of them have, so far, bothered to rectify the fault responsible for the non-availability of water.
Quoting the KWSB officials responsible for ensuring equal distribution of water, a number of residents of the affected localities said that “sometimes they (officials) attribute the persisting water shortage problem to power breakdowns at North-East Karachi pumping station. Sometimes they take the plea of getting short supply from the bulk supply system.”
However, when this reporter contacted the officials of the Water Trunk Main division who are responsible for supplying water to all the four zones of the metropolis, they refuted the water distribution officials’ claim of getting less supply, saying that whenever there are increased complaints concerning water shortages in their zones, they start blaming the Water Trunk Main division for the short supply.
Residents of different cooperative housing societies located on either side of Shaheed-i-Millat Road and affected blocks of Clifton complained that they mostly depend on private water tankers due to the uncertain water supply system of their localities.
They accused the officials concerned of creating an artificial water shortage.
“It seems as if the artificial water shortage is created to give a boost to the sales of private tankers,” they further alleged.
WATER SHORTAGE: Several parts of the city, including the Karachi Press Club (KPC) went dry on Saturday.
The office-bearers of the KPC deplored that when the KWSB chief engineer concerned, Najam Siddiqui, was contacted to apprise him about the non-availability of water in the club, the latter, while expressing his ignorance about the issue, assured that he will look in to the matter.
However, when the chief engineer was requested to supply water through tankers to the club, he expressed his inability to do so, saying that since the water supply through tankers is with the Rangers, he could not help the club in this regard.
