THATTA, May 11: Innumerable daily wage earners employed with ice factories, service stations, barber and washing shops, ice candy vendors and hoteliers have been badly affected due to an acute water shortage in Thatta district for last two weeks.

Syed Munawar Hussain Shah, an ice factory owner, told Dawn that closure of his factory has brought miseries to a number of families dependent on daily wage earners working in his factory, further delay in release of water would also multiply problems of general population due to non-freezing of ice in this hot season besides already rising graph of problems of his employees.

When contacted, Thatta taluka nazim Ada Mohammad Memon said that he was in touch with irrigation authorities who had promised stopgap arrangement of water supply through the K. B. Feeder and the Jam branch within five days.

He said all seven water reservoirs of the town have dried up and population of poor localities, particularly who cannot afford fetching water on payment from far flung areas, were the worst affected.

Meanwhile, the unprecedented delay in release of water has also badly hampered sowing of paddy seedlings in the district.