WHILE the construction work on the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project at the University Road in Karachi has been creating havoc for long, the misery of area residents was even further compounded recently when a water pipeline got damaged due to reckless excavation on the project site.

Despite everything claimed by the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) regarding repair work, nothing happened, and it was the water tanker mafia that had a chance to make hay. Some citizens opted for online KWSC application for requesting water tankers.

However, the requests kept piling up. When contact was finally established with the helpline service, the people were told that it would take at least 24 to 48 hours for a tanker to reach their homes.

The citizens were left with no choice but to pay an astronomical amount to the private tanker mafia. It was ironic that the authorities could not send the tanker, but the mafia was able to provide on-the-spot service.

This was not the first time that millions of area residents faced such a situation. The water pipelines have been damaged quite a few times since the launching of the BRT project because of senseless digging across the road.

Will this misery ever end, or will the Sindh government continue to treat the people like a herd of cattle?

Muhammad Hassan Abbasi
Karachi

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2024