KARACHI: A major power breakdown at the Dhabeji pumping station has crippled Karachi’s water supply, leaving vast swathes of the city parched for over two days.

According to the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC), the fault, which occurred at 10pm on June 26, remains unresolved and has caused two main water pumps at the K-III pumping house to cease operations.

The outage has resulted in a staggering shortfall of 185 million gallons of water to the city. Districts East and Central have borne the brunt of the crisis, with areas like Nazimabad, New Karachi, Landhi and Korangi facing severe disruptions in water supply.

“This is the second consecutive summer that we are facing this ordeal. Every time there is a power issue at Dhabeji, our taps go dry for days,” said Shahbaz Qureshi, a resident of Korangi No. 5, adding: “We are buying water tankers at double the usual rates.”

The KWSC spokesperson attributed the prolonged breakdown to an unresolved power fault under K-Electric’s jurisdiction.

KWSC says KE yet to rectify fault at Dhabeji Pumping Station despite passing two days

“Despite multiple field teams working in coordination with KE, the issue has not been rectified yet. This has forced us to suspend operations of two critical pumps,” the spokesperson said, adding that restoration of supply is KE’s responsibility.

In the meantime, residents of water-starved localities continue to face hardship and mental agony.

Farzana Naseer, a housewife in Landhi, shared her frustration saying that the neighbourhood haven’t had water in two days. “I had to wake up at 3am to fill two buckets from a neighbour’s borewell. This is not how we should live in a metropolitan city,” she said.

This isn’t the first time Karachi has experienced a water crisis linked to power failure at Dhabeji. The pumping station, which is the city’s primary water intake point, is highly dependent on uninterrupted electricity. Even brief outages result in immediate service disruptions.

While the KE has yet to provide a clear timeline for restoration, citizens are left to grapple with the growing crisis. Due to persistent water shortages across the city, people mostly rely on water tankers. They, however, face a great deal of hardship to get it as the water utility receives more bookings than the quota of water reserved for each district.

The KWSC, on the other hand, has warned that until the fault is resolved, the city’s water supply will remain compromised and has urged residents to use available water judiciously.

Meanwhile, the KE said that it was an underground cable fault and teams were facing issues due to accumulated rainwater in the area. “Electricity will be restored as soon as the water recedes,” it added.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2025