• KWSC fails to restore normal supply in several localities despite repair of line ruptured on KU campus
• Residents complain no water for 12 days
• Utility spokesperson claims supply to city restored, areas getting water on schedule

KARACHI: While Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has recently taken notice of the water crisis and instructed the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) to restore normal supply, several localities in all the seven districts of Karachi have still been facing a severe water crisis since the leakage of an 84-inch main on Karachi University campus on April 29.

Despite the completion of the repair work on the ruptured line, water woes of the people across the city have yet to come to an end as restoration of normal supply to the affected areas has been delayed due to filling of the repaired line with water under low pressure.

Although the CM had directed the KWSC to restore normal water supply from Saturday, sources in the KWSC said that it might take several more days to resume proper supply.

The city that requires over 1,200 million gallons of water daily (MGD) got only 400 MGD water, or around 40 per cent out of the regular supply of 650 MGD, due to repair work for the past 12 days.

The persistent water shortage piled miseries on people in the sweltering weather, leaving many with no option but to buy water on exorbitant rates.

The affected neighbourhoods include Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Sheme-33, PECHS, Bahadurabad, Tariq Road, Chanesar Town, Jinnah Town, Liaquatabad, Nazimabad, Pak Colony, Golimar, Shershah, old city area, Landhi, Korangi, PAF Base Masroor, etc.

The KWSC had initially said that the repair work on the ruptured pipeline would be completed in 96 hours. However, the repair took more time due to replacement of 32-foot piece of the damaged line.

A spokesman for the water utility claimed that normal water supply to the city had been restored and different areas were being supplied as per the schedule.

However, residents in different localities said that there was not a single drop of water in their taps for the past 12 days, making their life miserable.

A resident of PECHS, Zaid Rabbani, said that no water had flowed in their locality since the water main burst at the university. “We somehow arranged water tanker, but after paying additional price,” he said.

Residents of several localities said that the water supply was restored in their areas for a very short time.

Tauseef Ali Shah, a resident of Gulshan-i-Iqbal, said the supply was restored hardly for an hour. “The pressure was also too low and we could have only two buckets of water,” he lamented.

Sources in the water utility said the water pressure was kept low initially after the completion of the repair work as a precaution in view of the repair work on the damaged line.

They said the entire distribution network of the water utility had gone completely dried during the repair work and now the water level in different main lines in the city had got normal.

The sources said that the situation would normalise within a couple of days.

Leakages in main lines have been frequent as all main lines of different diameters, ranging from 48 inches to 84 inches, were laid in 1956 and 1971 across the city.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2025