Taking serious notice of the prevailing shortage of potable water in Karachi, Sindh Assembly’s Standing Committee on Local Governments has asked the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) and Sindh Irrigation Department to immediately arrange at least 450 cusecs of water for the city.
The committee met at the Sindh Assembly Building with the committee’s chairman, Pakistan People’s Party Member Provincial Assembly Haji Munawar Ali Abbasi, in chair. Besides the committee members, officials of the KWSB and the Irrigation Department also attended the meeting. The committee expressed concern over lack of progress on the project for providing 1200 cusecs of water to the city during the past seven years.
The committee also directed both government entities for submitting a report in the next meeting, suggesting how to expedite the work on the mega project. After the meeting, Abbasi told the media that the committee had asked both the KWSB and the Irrigation Department for evolving a joint strategy to resolve the water issue of the city.
He said that the committee had also asked both the bodies to finalise the planning on launching the K-4 project for the city. Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s representative in the committee, Syed Khalid Hameed, accused the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) for the prevailing water shortage in the metropolis. He said that IRSA has failed to ensure provision of Sindh’s water share.
According to him, the province is being given 48 percent less water of its due share under the 1991 Water Accord. It is pertinent to mention here that people belonging to different localities in the city have been protesting since the past few days due to shortage of potable water in their areas.
