KARACHI, March 27: Private tankers had a field day on Wednesday and indulged in overcharging in many city areas as various parts of the city went without water on Wednesday in the wake of a shortfall of 40 mgd.

The city had received a short supply of 40mgd from Dhabeji’s (Phase-II) and 2.5 mgd from North-East Karachi’s old pump house following a fault which developed in the Dhabeji’s Feeder No 1 on Monday and tripping of NEK’s Extra-High Tension wire on Tuesday.

The hard-hit areas included different sectors of Orangi, Baldia, Surjani, North Karachi, Clifton’s Block 2, deficient pockets of Lyari, several blocks of Federal B’ Area, North Nazimabad, Malir, Khokhrapar, Mehmoodabad, Old City Area, Gurumandir, Soldier Bazaar, parts of Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Shah Faisal Colony, Landhi and Korangi.

Residents of the water-starved localities said in the absence of water they had no choice but to buy tankers at exorbitant rates and consume sub-soil unhygienic water.

According to them, private water tankers which were in high demand on Wednesday charged between Rs 450 and 500 per tanker.

Complaining about persisting water shortage, residents of different sectors of Buffer Zone and North Karachi complained that although the KWSB had announced that their localities would not get the supply for 48 hours, starting from Thursday, not a single drop of water had been supplied to them even on Wednesday.

Residents of Orangi’s Sector 11 1/2 said on the one hand their localities are supplied water after every three days and, on the other, the KWSB officials have failed to supply them water during their last three turns, thereby forcing them to drink sub- soil water at the cost of their health.

They demanded of the City Nazim, Naimatullah Khan and KWSB managing director, Brig Mohammad Behram, to direct the concerned officials to immediately restore normal supply of water as they cannot afford to buy private water tankers for such a long period.

Residents of North Karachi’s Sector 11-C-1 (Sir Syed Town) said their locality was without water for the last one week and the KWSB had still announced a 48-hour water closure starting from Thursday which meant they would not get the supply till Saturday.

They also regretted that although an acute water shortage had been persisting in their locality for the last couple of months, the KWSB’s concerned officials seem to be least interested in restoring normal supply.

They urged the Sindh governor and the city Nazim to direct the KWSB to ensure smooth and uninterrupted supply of water to their locality or else they would become a victim of some serious diseases owing to consumption of sub-soil unhygienic water.