Severe water crisis hits Karachi, residents complain no water for 12 days

This comes despite recent directives from Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah for the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) to restore normal water supply across the city, Dawn reported on Monday.

The ongoing issue, triggered by the rupture of an 84-inch water main on the Karachi University campus on April 29, has left many households without water for nearly two weeks, Dawn reported.

The return of normal water supply remains delayed due to the need to fill the repaired line with water at low pressure carefully.

According to Dawn, the Chief Minister had directed that water supply be normalised by Saturday, but internal sources suggested that the situation may take several more days to stabilise.

The water shortage has impacted the city's residents severely. Karachi, which typically requires over 1,200 million gallons of water daily (MGD), has been receiving only 400 MGD, around 40 per cent of its usual supply of 650 MGD.

As a result, residents across all seven districts, including Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Scheme-33, PECHS, Bahadurabad, Tariq Road, Chanesar Town, Jinnah Town, Liaquatabad, Nazimabad, Pak Colony, Golimar, Shershah, Old City Area, Landhi, Korangi, and PAF Base Masroor, have struggled to access water for daily needs.

Many have resorted to purchasing water from tankers at higher prices, reported Dawn.

A resident of PECHS, Zaid Rabbani, highlighted the difficulties faced by his locality, saying, "We somehow arranged a water tanker, but only after paying an additional price."

Tauseef Ali Shah, a resident of Gulshan-i-Iqbal, also expressed his frustration, stating, "The supply was restored for hardly an hour. The pressure was too low, and we managed to fill just two buckets of water."

The KWSC had initially promised to complete the repair work within 96 hours of the rupture, but the process was delayed due to the replacement of a 32-foot section of the damaged pipeline.

Internal sources said that the situation is expected to stabilise within the next few days, Dawn reported.

Leakages in Karachi's main water supply lines have been a recurring issue. The main lines, with diameters ranging from 48 inches to 84 inches, were laid between 1956 and 1971.

Aging infrastructure has made these pipelines vulnerable to ruptures, resulting in frequent disruptions to the city's water supply.