KARACHI, Oct 6: The unannounced changes made in the water supply timings and curtailment of water quota for various localities hooked to the Indus source, following suspension of supply from the Hub source, has not only caused water shortage but also irks citizens in many areas of the city.
Insiders told Dawn that since the city government’s water and sanitation department officials concerned failed to chalk out a contingency plan for meeting water requirements of the localities hooked to the Hub dam reservoir, before suspending their supply from the source, they have been left with no other choice but to divert the Indus water, in increased quantity, to such areas, thereby creating shortage in areas already getting supply from the Indus source.
“The localities hooked to the Indus source, prior to suspension of their supply from Hub source, were getting 52 million gallons of water per day from the Indus source— 42 mgd from Ajmair Nagri and 10 mgd from the Board Office pumping stations — but nowadays they are being supplied 68 mgd of water — 58 mgd from Ajmair Nagri and 10mgd from Board Office,” the sources said.
At present, most of executive engineers of various localities, have reduced the timings of supply to their respective localities by four hours, on the plea that the officials of water trunk main (WTM) department have stopped informing them about their localities’ water supply timings, quantity and pressure, since suspension of supply from the Hub source.
The localities which suffered most in the current hot and dry weather on Monday included, Kharadar, Mithadar, Pakistan Chowk, Haqqani Chowk, Clifton’s blocks 2, 4, 5 and 7, Liaquat Ashraf Colony, Mehmoodabad, Akhtar Colony, Azam Basti, Aurangabad, Barra Maidan, Keamari, parts of Garden East, PECHS’ blocks 2 and 6, and Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Federal B Area, block 8 (Mohammadi Colony).
Residents of these water-starved localities deplored that although they had been experiencing acute water shortage for the last one week, the W&S department had, so far, failed to set up complaint centres from where they could at least know the cause of water shortage problem or lodge their complaints.
Accusing W&S lower staff of creating artificial water shortage in their localities, allegedly to boost the sale of water by private tankers, an elderly person of Clifton’s Block 2 remarked that “It seems that the W&S department is not setting up complaint centres deliberately to avoid wrath of the public.”
Taking undue advantage of persisting water shortage, private tankers have been charging exorbitant rates from the residents of water-starved localities.
Besides, the other localities which went without water on Monday, as part of the W&S department’s plan of diverting Indus water to the areas hooked to the Hub source, included all blocks of North Nazimabad, Federal B Area, North Karachi’s Shadman Town and parts of Nazimabad.
GULSHAN: Block 4-A, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, has been in the grip of acute water shortage since summer. Water is released on alternate days and is barely enough to meet two days’ requirements.
Sometimes, water is not released on the scheduled day. This stretches the “no supply” period to three days, and people are forced to purchase water from tankers.
Residents of the area have appealed to the chief of the Karachi and Water Sewerage Board to end the crisis by resuming normal supply.
CLOSURE: The localities where water supply will remain suspended on Tuesday, under weekly water-holiday system, include Clifton, Gizri, Delhi Colony, Punjab Colony, Shireen Jinnah Colony, Bhutta Village, Jinnah Post-graduate Medical Centre, National Institute of Child Health and National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases.