KARACHI, Jan 3: Lyari Town with a population of 1,610,700 has been facing acute scarcity of water and unhygienic conditions due to the poor sanitary conditions prevailing in town.

Water scarcity has been aggravating with each passing day despite abundance supply of water to the city. The total water supply to the area is 11mgd (million gallon daily) and there are three major and six minor pumping stations.

Residents of the town have been protesting against the water shortage and gutter overflow for the last several months. They also criticized the town administration, MNA and MPAs, who were not paying any attention to their problems.

The shortage of water has become more acute in Lyari than in any other part of the city. There are many localities in Lyari with water connections that have received simply no water for many years. Such localities include Ali Mohammad Mohallah, Kalakot, Chawkiwara, Sungoline, Khadda Market, New Kalri and old Kalri.

The town administration of Lyari, when contacted, blamed the Karachi Water and Sanitation Board officials, who were creating the artificial water shortage in the areas.

The town officials said that when the residents had received some water, it was often polluted, probably mixed with sewage from defective and leaking drainage lines, and unfit for cooking and drinking. According to them, since Lyari lies at the tail-end of the city's water distribution system, it suffers the most.

"Naturally, as Karachi's water supply has failed to cater to the needs of its growing population, the pilferage of water has multiplied problems in Lyari. Consequently, Lyari has never received its official share of water," remarked an official of Lyari Town. -PPI