KARACHI, the so-called ‘City of Lights’, has been famous for its electricity and gas loadshedding, and now it also faces water shortages. Recently, people, particularly in the Gulshan-i-Iqbal area, were forced to survive eight consecutive days without regular water supply. This happened because of the damage caused by the never-ending construction work related to the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Red Line.

This was not the first such incident. In fact, damage to water supply pipelines is a frequent tragedy that hits the households every few weeks. While the project itself has been a nuisance for millions of commuters and area residents for years, the disruption of water supply has added to the misery of the people over the last few months.

It might be easy for the wealthier ones to buy water tankers, but what about those who cannot afford such a luxury? If the word on the streets is to be believed, the ongoing water shortage has been created intentionally in connivance with the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) as an attempt to favour the water tanker mafia. If that is, indeed, the case, those involved in such activities must be identified and punished.

People are already dying from hunger, malnourishment, diseases, road traffic accidents, inflation, poverty and street crimes. If things do not change, they will soon be dying of thirst. One wonders for how long the people of Karachi would have to put up with this lingering torture.

Sumaira Hadi
Karachi

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2024