KARACHI, July 2: Most households along either side of Fida Hussain Shaikha Road and Saifi Lane in Baghdadi area of Lyari have been getting contaminated water for the past two weeks and some of the affected families are complaining of filthy water being supplied to them, probably due to damaged pipelines resulting in mixing of sewage.

A survey of the locality shows that around 500 households are affected by the problem.

Residents of the area said that a number of people, especially children and elderly persons, had been suffering from acute abdominal pain and nausea after consuming the contaminated water.

“We have brought the issue to the notice of the concerned officials and also held peaceful rallies, but they have not yet managed to rectify the fault,” said a resident of Saifi Lane.

Residents of the area called for immediate action to plug the leakages to avert the threat of gastroenteritis in the locality.

Meanwhile, people living along D.D. Chaudhry Road and around the Lyari Telephone Exchange in Baghdadi have complained of an acute shortage of water. They said the water issue had been lingering on in the locality despite repeated requests made to higher authorities for a permanent solution.

They deplored that their complaints and reminders sent to the relevant authorities over many years had been falling on deaf ears as no step had so far been taken to resolve the chronic problem that had been affecting more than 5,000 people of this locality.

“The area remains without water during summers and the situation is getting worse with each passing day forcing people to resort to agitation,” they said.

They held the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) responsible for the situation, and pointed out that due to their neglect most pumping stations in the locality were lying out of order for long.

Similar complaints were made by the residents of Shah Beg Lane union council areas where the worst-affected locality appeared to be Ali Mohammad Mohalla, facing the problem for more than a decade. The other affected localities included Daryabad and Nawabad.

The affected people said that they had constantly been raising a hue and cry for years but the chronic water shortage problem persisted.