Islamabad, June 2 (IANS) The water crisis continues in Pakistan’s Karachi as the water supply was suspended due to a fault in K-Electric’s (KE) main cable, local media reported on Tuesday.
The water supply remained disrupted in the city for the third consecutive day due to power failures at key pumping stations.
The Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) said that the power suspension caused a daily water shortfall of 85 million gallons per day (MGD) in Karachi, Pakistan’s daily Dawn reported.
The power outages in Karachi come at a time when the metropolis has been facing an acute water crisis for the past two months.
While people in Karachi faced acute water shortage during the three days of Eid al-Adha, the supply was disrupted in several parts of the city on May 30 after the KE conducted a forced shutdown at the Dhabeji Grid to repair a major technical fault in the transformer. This resulted in the suspension of water supply to several areas as the shutdown knocked out 10 of the 21 pumping units at the Dhabeji Pumping Station, suspending water supply to several areas.
The crisis further intensified on Saturday after the North East Karachi (NEK) Water Pumping Station faced a power outage due to a fault in K-Electric’s main supply cable. The outage disrupted operations of K-II Pumping Station, suspending water supply in several parts of the city.
Water supply remained disrupted in Karachi on Monday as the fault in K-Electric’s main cable suspended power to the Hub Pumping Station. The power-related failures have escalated the water crisis that has continued in Karachi for the past two months, increasing the problems for people amid the scorching weather.
As water supply remained disrupted for weeks in many localities and for more than two months in others, residents were forced to buy water tankers. However, the majority of them had to wait for seven to 10 days for a tanker as supply was limited, and many never bought it as the prices for water tankers have doubled.
Earlier in May, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) lawmakers held a protest in the Sindh Assembly over water shortage in Karachi and demanded immediate restoration of water supply. They gathered in front of the podium and shouted slogans, “Give water to Karachi,” Dawn reported.
Opposition Leader Ali Khurshidi said that Karachi “was thirsty for every drop of water” while the authorities watched like silent, senseless spectators. Khurshidi said that there is no water in the taps and added that he had tried to get a tanker for two days but failed, as per the report.
In response, Sindh’s Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar said, “The K-IV project is underway in Karachi.” He said that the MQM-P was part of the federal government and should urge it to complete the project quickly.
–IANS
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