KARACHI, July 21 The city's water supply crisis was aggravated on Tuesday, as the water received by most localities after a gap of two days on Tuesday was not only muddy but also carried a distinct odour.

The city's supply of about 580 million gallons of water per day from the River Indus was suspended on Saturday night following a major power breakdown that had occurred at the KWSB Dhabeji pumping station.

Supply from the Dhabeji station was restored on Monday, however, after a gap of 40 hours, and most parts of the city received water on Tuesday morning.

KWSB Managing Director Qutub Shaikh claimed that water supply from both the River Indus and Hub Dam had been restored, with the release of water to 80 per cent of the city's localities, while the water supply situation in the remaining 20 per cent of areas would be normalised by Wednesday.

Residents of most localities, however, said that since the water being supplied to them was muddy and also had an odour, they were reluctant to consume it for fear of contracting water-borne diseases.

Apprehending that the water currently being supplied to them was neither being chlorinated nor filtered properly at the water utility's filtration plants, residents of different localities in support of their contention said that previously the KWSB officials concerned used to enhance the quantity of chlorine to disinfect germs carried with the rainwater and, as such, the water used to have some smell of chlorine. They said the water currently being supplied to their localities did not taste of chlorine at all.

Confirming that the chlorination process was not being conducted properly at the water utility's COD Filter Plant, some independent sources in the KWSB said that a very small quantity of alum and chlorine was being mixed with the water at the COD filter plant.

Moreover, raw water from the River Indus being received at the COD filter plant was not being completely filtered owing to choking of filtration nets, they added.However, when the KWSB MD Shaikh was contacted by Dawn,to seek his opinion on the matter, he claimed that the water being supplied to the city was clean and hence fit for human consumption.

When attention was drawn towards citizens' fears that the muddy water was not being filtered and chlorinated, he disagreed with the assumption, and said he would respond to the queries after consulting the relevant officials.

Meanwhile, many people were seen thronging to the water filtration plant located in a family park in Gulshan-i-Iqbal, near Al-Azam Square, to buy filtered water.

Residents of various localities who have been deprived of water for the last three days also thronged to private hydrants to buy water through tankers, but they had to wait for a long time to get the supply through tankers.