HYDERABAD: Residents of various low-lying areas have been facing problems because of standing rainwater and an acute shortage of drinking water in Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Badin, Sanghar and Thatta districts since Saturday. In Hyderabad, the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) failed to supply potable water drain out rainwater standing in many areas of the city.
People keep complaining against poor facilities of Wasa and the district administration. There is still rainwater in the areas of Qasimabad, Latifabad, Hyderabad.
Despite many warnings and forecasts by Met office, Wasa and the district administration have failed to make proper arrangements for rainy days.
After passage of almost four days, the areas of Naseem Nagar, Anwar and Faraz villas, Sehrish Nagar, Sheedi Goth, Latifabad units 7,8,10 & 11, and site areas, old city localities, Railway colony, Pathan colony and Liaqaut colony are still inundated.
People have to tolerate foul smell of mud and heaps of garbage from where rainwater has been disposed of. Keeping the situation in view, some diseases could break out in Hyderabad.
“Thought of rain is like a nightmare as people of my areas are confined to first floor of their houses due to accumulated rainwater,” Abdul Majeed, a resident of Phulelli, says.There are more complaints against lack of potable water these days in Latifabad units 8,9,10,11 & 12, Hussainabad, Kotri road, Affendi Town, Paretabad, Phulelli, Sarfaraz Colony, Pak Colony, Hali road and other areas.
WASA managing director Masood Jumani admits the poor situation of Hyderabad and pleads for overhauling and revamping the entire system of Wasa which is in a state of dilapidation. He urged the government to restore subsidy to Wasa like that in the past.
Defending Wasa, he claimed Wasa would be able in getting rid of water till night.
He also admitted that potable water supply had been stopped deliberately to some areas where sewage had been mixed with drinking water. “First of all, we have to remove sewage and then supply potable water as without this exercise, supply of drinking water to these areas will be futile and consumers will get contaminated water,” he admits it.Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC)administrator Barkatullah Memon said that because of stagnant rainwater, sanitary staff have problems to lift garbage from areas.
According to a handout on Tuesday, Hyderabad Deputy Commissioner Motasim Abbasi said 90 per cent of rainwater had been drained out from rain-hit areas so far while standing water was being disposed of by machines in low-lying localities.
He said this while monitoring works of draining out rainwater in parts of Qasimabad, old city areas and Latifabad. BADIN: Despite repeated protests by people, functionaries in Tando Bago town failed to drain out rainwater from their localities, including the main boys primary school, offices of the taluka education officer and irrigation office.
Rainwater accumulated in many localities of Ward No 1, 2, 3 , 8 and 9 of the town has made the lives of residents miserable.
Talking to Dawn, affected people deplored that the town officer, despite their repeated appeals, had failed to redress their grievances.
According to reports reaching here from various villages, no efforts are made to drain out water gushing from the breached points of various canals.
However, Badin DC Mohammad Raffique Quraishi told this reporter that he himself was supervising the process of draining out water from the localities of different towns.
He said the breaches which had occurred to irrigation minors and drains had already been plugged.
Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2016