Water Shortage In Karachi Goes Unabated

KARACHI: Water shortage in many city areas has is increasing alarmingly as citizens are receiving insufficient or no supply at all, giving a boost to the sale of water tankers. The sale of polluted and unhygienic water is resulting as spread of fatal diseases including Gastro, which is causing panic not only in the populace of city but World Health Organization has also expressed its concern over the gravity of the situation.

Sources in Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) attributed the water scarcity to growing influx of population and depleting water resources and said that the government is looking for various options to cope with situation including local and foreign investment in this sector.

Currently, sources said, the the city is facing a water shortage of 650 mgd, which demands a comprehensive strategy from the city government as well as provincial and federal government to comprehend the situation.

Residents of the affected areas complained that in the absence of piped water they had no choice but to buy private tankers at exorbitant rates or consume sub-soil unhygienic water at the cost of their health.

They complained that since their request for water through tankers, belonging to W&S department’s hydrants often remains unheeded for days together, private tankers indulge in money-minting by charging higher than the normal rates.

"As our locality is deprived of water since long, we have been spending at least Rs 600 per month for purchasing water tankers which means we are spending Rs. 6,000 a year merely on account of water and that too contaminated and unhygienic," said a perturbed resident of while commenting on the water crisis.

Its worth to mention here that several organizations related to checking the quality of water including highly technically reputed organization, Agha Khan University Hospital has confirmed that the water being supplied to the residents of Karachi through tankers is highly contaminated and authorities must work on to find alternate solutions to save the health of citizen.

Citizens and experts have urged the federal, provincial and city government to adopt international practices to solve the problem especially the option of seawater treatment. A board of experts could be established in this regard that can engage the local and foreign investors in this sector and finalize workable proposals to provide the citizens of Karachi clean water through international standard desalination plants, they concluded.