Daily Times

KARACHI: With the onset of summer, different areas of the city, especially slums, are facing an acute water shortage, Daily Times learnt on Tuesday.

The slums and low-income areas, which are already suffering with prolonged power outages, are the worst sufferers of the water shortage. Sector 32-B of Korangi Town is one of these areas, which has been facing water shortage for the past many years, while the summer season aggravates the situation.

Due to water shortage, people are being forced to buy bottled water for drinking purpose and water from tankers for their houses. These tankers sell water on high prices, while the quality of water is also questionable.

Muhammad Ishaq, 40, a resident of 32-B area of Korangi, said that for the past many years his colony was not getting water from the state-run water supply agency, therefore they use suction pumps to get water from the line.

He said that since power load shedding was common in the area, people were unable to get water even from the lines. “We have no other option but to buy water,” he told Daily Times. “For drinking only, this tanker may be enough for 7 to 9 days for a joint family, whereas for a small family it can be good enough for 15 days,” he added.

In Zia Colony, another area in the same town, one can see people selling water at shops, having water tankers outside or ground tanks underneath. They store water and sell it like other daily-use commodities.

Muhammad Ishaq, another local, complained about the improper supply of water to homes, saying that there was no timetable for its delivery from the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board. “It has made our lives very difficult.”

He also said that people who had generators usually filled up their tanks during load shedding hours, knowing that the supply was for a short period.

The residents of Sector 32-B also complained about the quality of water being supplied, saying that sometimes the water was stinky, which caused many diseases such as bloating, bad digestive system, amoebiasis and diarrhoea.

They also said that some people preferred using groundwater, which was slightly salty.