Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab on Wednesday announced that the city administration would soon end the supply of water through hydrants, saying he had directed the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) to develop an alternative water distribution strategy.

Karachi faces an acute water shortage as the metropolis requires over 1,200 million gallons of water daily (MGD), but gets only 650MGD. Many parts of the city are supplied via water tankers from hydrants.

Speaking to the media after the inauguration of the Jehangir Road Rehabilitation project, Mayor Wahab outlined plans to “abolish” the hydrant system and directed KWSC officials to develop a strategy for fair distribution of water across the metropolis.

“The contract period for each hydrant is two years, and that period for the city’s seven hydrants has expired,” the mayor said, adding that when deciding if the contracts should be renewed, he recommended that the hydrants should be closed instead.

“There should be fair distribution of water in the city,” he said.

He further said that KSWC officials were currently working on a proposal for developing an alternate system.

“When they complete the proposal, I will present it to the City Council,“ he said.

“Once the City Council gives approval, we will stop tanker services.”

The mayor maintained that the hydrant system had been inherited, and “the beneficiary is someone else”.

“There is a shortage of water, but it should be distributed fairly,” he said.