KARACHI: As citizens continue to face acute water shortages in many parts of Karachi, the suspension of water bowser service during first two days of Eidul Fitr is bound to add to their woes.

The city, which is supplied almost half of the water of its daily requirement through the dilapidated supply and distribution network of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC), has already been getting short supply for the past days when a power breakdown at the Dhabeji Pumping Station affected its regular function.

The residents said that the water shortages during the three days of Eid were bound to lead to significant inconvenience to them as there were forced to limit their water use.

The worst-affected are parts of districts Central, West and Keamari, though the situation in some parts of others districts was no different either where water had not flowed through the main pipelines for the past several days. The situation has forced the people to opt for the water tankers to meet their daily requirements.

KWSC chief directs officials to ensure supply to those who had booked water tankers

Some residents of districts West and Central even took their clothes, bed sheets and curtains, to other houses to wash them for Eid preparations.

Shakeel Ahmed, a resident of Korangi, said that he had to took his family to a relative’s house for Sehri as there was no water at home. “I tried to get a water tanker, but was told that there was no possibility of any tanker from Sunday till Eid holidays,” he grunted.

With the suspension of water tanker service during the Eid holidays, the most-affected areas will be the salubrious parts of the city, including Defence Housing Authority and Clifton, as many residents rely on bowsers for water supply.

Khalid Ahmed from Clifton said that there was always acute water shortage during Eid days. “Obviously, it is created by the water utility officials with the connivance of tanker mafia to extract money from people on such occasions,” he said.

Meanwhile, KWSC CEO Ahmed Ali Siddiqui had directed the water utility officials to ensure delivery of all online-booked water tankers before Eidul Fitr.

In a statement, Mr Siddiqui said the tanker service would be temporarily suspended on March 31 (Monday) and April 1 (Tuesday) due to public holidays.

However, he said that the service would be available only at hydrant windows on April 2, where customers could easily collect their water tankers. “From April 3, the tanker service will be fully restored via the mobile app at all hydrants,” he added.

The water utility chief directed the officials to ensure smooth water supply and sewerage services during Eid to prevent any inconvenience to citizens.

He emphasised that all mosques, eidgahs, imambargahs, and madrassas should have clean surroundings so that people could perform their religious duties without any disruptions.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2025