Institutions, state not helping citizens secure their future, Karachi conference told

Published November 12, 2018
Rapid urbanisation, unchecked population growth and industrialisation have made water troubles more immediate and acute. — File photo
Rapid urbanisation, unchecked population growth and industrialisation have made water troubles more immediate and acute. — File photo

KARACHI: Dissecting water woes and the worsening condition of sanitation in the metropolis, panellists on the last day of the 6th Annual Karachi Conference painted a grim picture, highlighting how the institutions and the state are letting down the citizens and not securing their future in the process.

The second session of the day, ‘Water, sanitation and public health’, was a sobering reminder for all present concerning how rapid urbanisation, unchecked population growth and increasing industrialisation have made water troubles more immediate and acute.

Erum Sattar of Harvard Law School used lessons learnt from her research on the Colorado river to elaborate on how the Indus River Basin is plagued by similar issues; her major thrust was that the various institutions set up to protect this water body were in turn letting it down and doing more damage in the process.

‘City is facing a critical shortage of water with no confirmed sources of supply’

“According to John Briscoe, who worked on the Indus extensively, salinity management is the biggest and most fundamental challenge in the Indus basin. Other challenges include over allocation, unsustainable ground water pumping, water logging and many more. The Indus is close to using all of the available surface water and ground water, yet it is projected that over 30pc more water will be needed over the next 20 years to meet increased agricultural, domestic and industrial demands,” she said.

There needed to be institutional reform to combat these issues, explained Sattar. The functioning of the Indus River System Authority, for instance, needed to be improved and it needed to become an adaptive and cooperative learner; the Indus Water Treaty and accord needed addendum to them too.

Mohsin Raza, general secretary of the Peoples Labour Union at the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, started his presentation with a sanitised documentary of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, where all is well. However, once he was asked to draw the true picture of the KWSB, Raza shared several damning incidents which highlighted the failures of the KWSB and other institutions involved in the distribution of water in the city.

“Most of Karachi’s water supply system was installed or upgraded more than five years ago and is operating above the designed capacity or has reached the end of its life. The situation has left the city facing a critical shortage of portable water with no confirmed or potential sources of supply,” he said.

However, the KWSB is also struggling to survive, he said.

“The monthly electricity bill of the KWSB is Rs50 crore as we are charged commercial rates even though this organisation is facilitating citizens. The heavy billing is a big strain on the organisation.”

Many of the eight filter plants were also not functional, he said. “The SC has made commissions and even visited these plants. But the only difference that came about was that the outer surface of rusted pipes was cleaned and painted red and green, but inside them the situation is the same. The same is the case with treatment plants, where lots of money has been taken for their rehabilitation, but are suffering from the same neglect and untreated water is being dumped into the ocean.”

Dr Noman Ahmed of the NED university spoke on the institutional reforms needs in the water supply arrangements in Karachi.

With reference to the KIV project, he said that there were delays in its completion which the state must immediately rectify. Also, quota for water supply also needed to be revised.

“The quota for water supply, which stands at 1,200 cusecs from the Indus source, must be enhanced due to the rising water demand. Also, new distribution lines must be laid to tail-end location before supply from KIV began.

He added that existing faults and leaking pipelines were a major issue of water loss and needed to be replaced to manage water shortage.

“Lack of awareness and education also need to be tackled and for that the Sindh education department must be directed to include water education at primary school level. Metering must be compulsorily introduced for bulk and domestic consumers and households must be sensitised that water needs to be paid for in order to better conserve, manage and utilise it.”

Other sessions of the day included a focus on education and language of instruction, as well as the interplay between music and culture.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2018

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