News
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Karachi facing shortage of 70 million gallons of water* Crisis may continue for more than a month
By Irfan Aligi
KARACHI: The Dhabeji pumping station has ceased to function due to which the city has been deprived of 70 million gallons of water per day. The technical flaws that led to the shutdown of three major water pumps have placed the entire city under an acute water crisis.
According to a well-placed officer in Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB), who did not want to be named, the KWSB management has failed to address the situation appropriately. Pumps worth millions of rupees are in urgent need of repair. This was communicated to the KWSB managing director but to no avail, he added.
He said a pump ceased to function on September 21 depriving the city of 35 million gallons water per day, while another pump went out of order on September 25, due to which the total water shortage rose to 70 million gallons per day.
Sources siad the KWSB contractors have refused to continue the repair and maintenance work as their outstanding bills of around Rs 2 billion have not been settled, he claimed.
Talking to Daily Times, KWSB Chief Engineer (Electrical and Mechanical) Zaheer Abbas said that one non-functional pump has been brought to the city for repair.
He said that two pumping stations of the K-II water project and another standby pump have stopped working due to which the water crisis has aggravated.
An official said the previous management did not pay due attention to repairs and maintenance, he said, adding that the KWSB was facing an acute financial crunch.
In reply to a question, he said the repairing cost of the three pumps would be Rs 160 million and could take a month, but efforts would be made to get them fixed within a fortnight.
Many areas including Defence, Clifton, Gizri, Jamshed Town, Landhi, Korangi, PAF Base Shah Faisal, PAF Korangi Creek, Gulshan-e Iqbal, North Nazimabad, Nazimabad, Liaquatabad, Pir Ilahi Bux (PIB) Colony, Saddar, Kharadar, Mithadar, Kemari, Baldia, Lyari, Baba Island, Bhit Shah, Buffer Zone were not supplied water on Friday and Saturday while the supply would remain shut on Sunday (today) also.
Meanwhile, the Dhabeji pumping station experienced power load shedding three times on Saturday.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk