KARACHI: Many areas of Karachi are facing acute water shortage due to lack of planning on the Sindh government’s part, forcing citizens to drink unclean water.
Residents of neighborhoods such as Defence, Lyari and others are adversely affected by the water shortage and instances of salty water being supplied to these areas have also surfaced.
The scarcity of clean drinking water in the metropolis has always been a norm in the summer season, however in recent times it has become increasingly difficult for the city dwellers to procure clean water all year round.
Despite paying their water bills, residents of the city have been at the mercy of poor performance of Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB). Coupled with water tanker mafia and alleged lobbying of bottled water companies, the water shortage has reached an unfortunate magnitude.
Another aspect to Karachi’s water issue is the correlation between uncertainty of power supply and water shortage. Water pumping stations, without smooth flow of electricity fail to match the daily water demand. In most of the areas, the water supply timing by KWSB and load-shedding hours are identical, depriving people from storing the water as a preemptive measure.
Karachi is a mega city of Pakistan which requires more than 1,000 million gallons of water per day for fulfilling the need of its large population. Keeping in mind the increasing population, there is an inherent need to raise the water capacity of the city on urgent basis.
