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KARACHI, Nov 28: Business of private tankers, selling sub-soil unhygienic water to the helpless citizens of water-starved areas in the city, has constantly been flourishing as the consumers are experiencing three day recess in the name of one-day weekly water holiday.
There have been widespread complaints that different localities go without water for three days very often forcing the people to purchase tanker water.
Residents of various localities said that they used to receive water on alternate days prior to the introduction of water holiday system. However, the holiday nowadays continues for three consecutive days, they added.
In support of their contention, residents of Federal B Area, North Nazimabad, Buffer Zone, Nazimabad and Shadman Town, said that though the KWSB officially suspended the water supply to their localities on Mondays, the supply usually resumed on Wednesdays. On Sundays also they added, they would not get water due to the alternate supply system.
Similar complaints have been received from other city areas being fed from the Indus source and where the KWSB has been suspending the supply once in a week to divert the same to the localities hooked to the Hub source.
CHEATING: Despite charging an exorbitantly high rate, the tanker operators have resorted to supply water which, in many cases, appeared absolutely unfit for human consumption.
A resident of Clifton, Block 2, remarked that there was no competent authority to check whether the private tankers were supplying potable water to the customers. “We have been getting poor quality water but have no option because of an acute shortage prevailing in our area for long,” he added.
Another resident said: “Nobody knows where these tankers fetch water from — a hydrant or some other source.” He was of the view that samples for testing must be taken from the tankers as well as from different hydrants in order to determine the source of unhygienic, turbid, contaminated and sub-soil water being supplied by the private tanker operators.
A perturbed resident of Federal B Area’s Block 14 said: “Isn’t it irony that we are buying private tanker water for no less than Rs400-500 without being sure that it would cause no harm to our health?”
CLOSURE: The localities which went without water on Thursday as part of the KWSB plan of diverting Indus water to the localities hooked to the Hub source included Landhi, Korangi, Defence Housing Authority, National Refinery, Karachi Port Trust, Pakistan Railways, PAF (Korangi) Base and its adjoining areas. The localities which would go dry on Friday are: Gulshan-i- Iqbal’s blocks 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 10-A, 13-A, 13-B, 16, 17 and 18.
