HYDERABAD, Nov 22: There has been an acute water shortage in Hyderabad for the past two days because the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) has disconnected electricity connections of the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) and Hyderabad Development Authority (HDA) for not paying dues worth more than Rs6.30 billion.

According to Hesco spokesperson Sadiq Kubar, the company disconnected more than 100 power connections of both Wasa and HDA and would disconnect about 102 more under a grand recovery campaign against private and government defaulters.

He said that a deadline of Nov 20 had been given to Wasa and HDA but they failed to pay their dues.

Meanwhile, Wasa managing director Saleemuddin said that the figure of more than 6 billion was exaggerated. According to him, in their meeting in October last year for reconciliation of dues Hesco and Wasa officials had agreed to a sum of Rs1,490 million, but the Sindh government had yet to pay the amount.

He said that Hesco had disconnected seven main power connections of Wasa, including two of Jamshoro filter plants which supply 40 million gallons of water per day (MGD) out of the total 70 million gallons supplied in Hyderabad.

For the second consecutive day, he said, around 80 per cent residents of Hyderabad had been deprived of drinking water.

He said that Wasa failed to pay its dues because it only recovered 35 per cent, around Rs25 million, of the total recovery while monthly expenses of the agency hovered around Rs50 million. Even the staff hadn’t been paid for two months, he said, adding that he had written to the Sindh government suggesting granting of a monthly subsidy of Rs30 million monthly.

Meanwhile HDA director Ghulam Mohammad Qaimkhani could not be reached for comment.