KARACHI: Mayor Wasim Akhtar has said that 95 per cent of drinking water being supplied to the metropolis is contaminated, expressing the fear that the deepening water crisis could create a civil war-like situation if the issue is not tackled forthwith.

“The city is getting water much less than the share it deserves; and, what makes the situation even worse is that 95pc of that drinking water is contaminated and poisonous, which is tantamount to playing with the health of millions of people,” said Mayor Akhtar while addressing a meeting organised by the Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD) at its office on Saturday.

“I have reasons to fear that people may possibly fight with each other on the issue of water, because we all know water is the basic need for human beings.”

He said the entire water supply system of the city was defective and needed far-reaching changes to make citizens’ life easier. It was time to raise voice for the rights of the city, he added.

“I want to see everyone in Karachi get basic facilities; the city should be adorned with beautiful tall buildings offering a Dubai-like sight; and, traffic laws [should be] obeyed like elsewhere in the world. But this dream is hard to materialise for many reasons,” said the mayor.

‘A lone warrior’

He said he was happy to see that Lahore and Islamabad were becoming more beautiful and modern, but he found himself a lone warrior who was fighting for the rights of Karachi.

“Everyone will have to take responsibility for making Karachi a truly cosmopolitan city,” he added.

Mayor Akhtar said he had been a minister for local government and housing, thus, he understood the city keeping all its nuances and dimensions in mind.

“We know who is involved in China-cutting,” he said, using the locally popular term for slicing amenity plots and converting them into residential and commercial property that is sold off for huge profits.

“Here people divide a 1,000-yard plot into eight without considering how badly it affects the amenities like water, power and gas etc. It seems I am the only one who is thinking [about] all these issues.”

He complained that every step he intended to take for the betterment of the city faced great obstacles. He said he was the one who had woken up the Sindh Building Control Authority from deep slumber to take care of endangered buildings.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2017