THE debilitating water crisis that hit Karachi on Sept 12, 1968 after a pipeline behind the University of Karachi burst open stretched into another week, but with lesser intensity, because the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) had resumed the supply of water in the city, albeit in fits and starts. Some neighbourhoods were still facing the problem.

On Sept 17, 1968 it was reported that two blocks of North Karachi Township (D and F) were among the unlucky areas which had gone without water for the fifth consecutive day.

Despite the fact that the damaged pipeline and the reservoir feeding the two blocks had been repaired a couple of days earlier, water was not reaching the neighbourhoods owing to low pressure and shortage of supply. North Karachi got its share through the pumping station at Federal B Area. A second pump in the heart of the township fed the higher altitude areas such as blocks D and F. Although the Federal B Area pumps were operating at full speed, there was not enough water to reach the second pumping station and therefore the two blocks remained dry. But KDA engineers worked hard that day to improve things. For immediate relief they secured a water carrier which supplied water to the residents. Also, the supply to Orangi and Qasba townships was resumed after the special squads had repaired the pipeline.

Things took another ugly turn when a KDA survey showed on Sept 17 that some miscreants had damaged water installations at 18 different places in North Karachi, Qasba and Orangi townships. Among the damaged works were various water mains of six and four inches diameter, valves, underground tanks and reservoirs. The miscreants had dislocated the supply network at 13 different places in North Karachi alone, including the roof of an underground reservoir.

The same day, in order to tackle the water crisis, the ADC issued a statement saying it had completed a preliminary study of the Malir River and other rain rivulets in the area to select sites for constructing small dams to help raise the water levels in the wells. Mr M.S. Minhas, project director of small dams, completed investigations the week before with the assistance of Lt Col Shah Mohammad, project director for the proposed green belt around Karachi. A feasibility study from technical angles was to begin next week at the sites selected by the two directors… Interesting! This means that the dam proposals aren’t something about which heated discussions began in 2018.

Not just dam building, on Sept 18 it was announced that the Ministry of Works was considering a proposal for constructing more quarters for government servants in Karachi. At the time, only half of the Central Government servants working in Karachi (about 10,000) had official quarters while the remaining (about 9,000) had been on the waiting list for several years. But the need for additional houses was estimated at 7,500.

While all of this was going on, something positive was taking place in Lyari. For the first time in the history of the locality, burqa-clad women, particularly widows, had started to learn needlework. The training led them to self-help and enabled them to earn a living from home. The credit went to the Social Welfare Department and the elders of the locality who had extended their cooperation to the authorities by encouraging womenfolk to learn the art of needlework. The Social Welfare Department’s first Urban Community Development Project was established in Lyari in 1954 with a view to imparting vocational training. The Lyari centre was the first to be opened in Karachi. Initially, the centre was set up at Nayabad but later shifted to Gul Mohammad Lane. The scheme covered 12 area committees. They were: Gul Mohammad Lane, Chakiwara, Photo Lane, Gharibabad , Gharib Shah, Rexer Line, Kalakot, Iqbal Colony, Singo Line, Saidabad, Mira Naka and Kumbarwara.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2018