KARACHI, March 16: Various localities of the formerly West and Central districts went without water for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, adding miseries to the residents in the current hot and dry weather.

While the KWSB has officially enforced a three-day (March 15-17) water closure in Orangi, Baldia and Site towns to facilitate repairing of leaking pipelines across Banaras Chowk, residents of Surjani Town, Qasba, Metroville and parts of New Karachi complained that they had been deprived of water for the last four days.

"Isn't it surprising that the KWSB had suspended the water supply to our localities for three days without making alternative arrangements?" asked a resident of Baldia Town.

A councillor of the Orangi Town's Union Council No 9, Aftab Ahmed, said: "As a mater fact, we have been facing an acute shortage of water for the last 15 days and now, the situation has turned into a crisis, assuming an alarming proportion in the wake of the three-day closure."

Since the KWSB has not made water supply arrangement through tankers, the residents of the affected localities have to go for the expensive private tankers' water or the sub-soil unhygienic water, he said.

He deplored that the Board had resorted to three-day closure for the plugging of pipelines in Banaras Chowk area but it was taking no measures to undertake repair of a number of other pipelines passing through several important roads in Orangi Town.

Claiming that a considerable quality of water had been going waste due to leaking pipelines passing through the Nishan-i-Haider Chowk, Aziz Nagar, Islam Chowk, Thorani Goth, Disco Morr pumping station, Habib Bank Quarters and Safaid Chowk, he said that the KWSB officials seemed quite indifferent despite a number of complaints having been lodged with them.

He pointed out that water gushing out of the damaged pipelines had not only been causing extensive damage to the roads but also creating unhygienic conditions all around the affected spots in these localities.

Residents of Surjani Town and New Karachi complained on Tuesday that they had been experiencing an acute water shortage since Saturday. The KWSB had not announced any water closure for their localities, they added.

Complaints of persisting water shortage were also received from block 10 of Gulshan-i-Iqbal. "Although we have been experiencing water shortage for the last six days, we have received not a single drop during the last two days," one of the residents said.