KARACHI, Jan 12: The city’s overall water supply situation will be affected on Monday owing to a power breakdown that occurred at Dhabeji pumping station on Saturday-Sunday night.

Sources in the city government’s Water and Sanitation Department (W&SD) said that the electric supply at the pumping station remained suspended from 3.45am to 4.10am causing a shortfall of about 13 million gallons of water on Sunday.

“Though the shortfall was not significant, it will have its impact on the city’s overall supply position as several parts are already in the grip of water shortage owing to faulty water distribution system,” the sources added.

Complaints from various parts of the city about persisting water shortage continued to pour in in newspaper offices on Sunday.

Most of the complainants were residents of Orangi’s sectors 10, 11 1/2, 14, 15-D, 16, Block L, Ghausia Baloch Colony, Thorani Goth, Aziz Nagar, Pakistan Bazaar, Bangla Bazaar and Bewa Quarters, different sectors of Baldia Town, parts of North Karachi, Shershah, Nazimabad and the industrial area of Site.

Residents of the affected localities complained that although they had been experiencing an acute shortage since October last, the W&SD officials had not yet managed to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted supply. Their failure, they pointed out, had been forcing them to either use sub-soil unhygienic water or go for private tankers’ water at exorbitant rates.

“We were expecting that the lingering water problem will be resolved after the KWSB’s merger into the city district government. But after the merger, the situation continued to deteriorate with each passing day,” a councillor of Orangi Town remarked.

He deplored that on the one hand, different parts of Orangi often remained without water for weeks together while on the other, a considerable quantity was being wasted from a number of leaking pipelines.

Residents of many other localities pointed out that although water supply to their areas used to be suspended officially on Saturdays only, their taps remained dry even on Sundays.

Such complaints have been received from parts of Nazimabad, PECHS Block 2, KDA Scheme-1, Sharifabad and Gharibabad.

Water supply to Federal B Area, Nazimabad, North Nazimabad, Buffer Zone, and Shadman Town will remain suspended on Monday as part of the W&SD’s plan of diverting Indus water to the water- starved localities of the former district West.