KARACHI, Aug 30: Various parts of the city are either without water or being supplied scant supply since long, thereby forcing the residents of water-starved localities to either buy water from private tankers at exorbitant rates or consume sub-soil unhygienic water at the cost of their health.
The magnitude of persisting water shortage problem can be gauged from the fact that even the requests for water supply through paid tankers, at the hydrants of water and sanitation department managed by Rangers, remained unheeded for a couple of days owing to high number of requests.
The hard hit-areas included Catholic Colony No-2, Kharadar, Dhoraji Colony, Adamjee Nagar, Al-Hamra Society, Bangalore Town, Jinnah Cooperative Housing Society, Kathiawar Society, Mehmoodabad, Manzoor Colony, blocks 2 and 6 of PECHS, North Karachi’s sectors 5-C/1, 14-A, 14-B, Baghdadi, Agra Taj Colony, Usmanabad, Block 41-A of Korangi’s T-Area, blocks 4-A, 5, 10 and 10-A of Gulshan-i-Iqbal and blocks 2 and 5 of Clifton.
Residents of various affected societies complained that although they had been experiencing acute water shortage for the last fortnight, the concerned officials did not take any measure to restore the normal supply.
A resident of Catholic Colony No-2 complained that they were deprived of water for the last 20 days and their requests for water through paid tankers at Muslimabad hydrant often went unheeded for last many days despite the fact that the hydrant was operating in their locality.
“It has become a routine that our supply often get affected for weeks after every three or four months and such a situation forces us to purchase private tankers at exorbitant rates,” remarked an elderly person of Bangalore Town.
Similar complain has been received from the residents of Adamjee Nagar, Jinnah Society and Al-Hamra Society, situated off Tipu Sultan Road.
ORANGI: Around 500 houses in Korangi Town’s T-Area, Block 41-A, are without water for the last three months.
Residents of the affected locality deplored that they were deprived of water for more than three months while their adjacent locality, Block 41-B, was being supplied so much water that the houses there had been doing a roaring business of water supply.
Regretting that they had been consuming sub-soil unhygienic water at the cost of their health, they demanded of the EDO water and sanitation department to direct the officials concerned to immediately rectify the fault responsible for suspension of supply to their locality.
KHARADAR: Residents of Kharadar’s multi-storied buildings, situated on Jaffar Fadoo Road and adjoining areas, are being supplied water for 10 to 20 minutes hardly in the whole day.
People residing in Kharadar’s tail-end area, who were often deprived of water, complained that some consumers of their locality had not only tampered with the main pipeline by fixing deep nipples at its bottom to fetch maximum water but also acquired more than one connection in connivance with the officials of water and sanitation department.
They claimed that they had repeatedly lodged complaints with the concerned executive engineer and the respective Union Council Nazim. The residents regretted that all their complaints had remained unheeded.
They demanded of the water and sanitation department’s newly appointed EDO to help resolve their lingering water issue and disconnect all illegal connections, which were the main cause of water shortage in their locality.
Complaints of persisting water shortage have also been received from different parts of Baldia. Residents complained that they had been receiving scant supply of water with a low pressure despite the fact that their turn comes twice a week.