HYDERABAD, Oct 18: Strike by employees of the Hyderabad Development Authority and the Water and Sanitation Agency in protest against non-payment of salary for the past six months entered the third day on Thursday, worsening the shortage of water across the city.

People complain that no Wasa official is attending their calls and no member of staff is available at water pumping stations. The striking workers have been keeping sewerage and water supply pumping stations shut from 10am to 6pm and staging sit-ins at Wasa installations every day for the past three days.

They staged a sit-in at Tulsi Das pumping station on Thursday.

Their leaders Behram Chang, chairman of the Joint Action Committee, and members of the committee, Raja Palari, Shaeeq Ali Pathan and Insaf Lashari said that employees and their families were starving but the HDA and Wasa administration were not paying salary to 3,000 regular and contractual employees (working in grade-1 to 16).

They said that if the poor employees were not paid salary they would expand their protest and completely shut down all pumping stations.

Wasa managing director Saleemuddin said that the administration would pay salary to staff whenever it recovered water bills. A total of 2,000 employees, including officers, clerks, labourers, regular and contractual employees had not been paid salary, he admitted.

Besides the ongoing strike, he said, Hesco had also added to the crisis as the power utility disconnected on Thursday power supply to three main filter plants in Jamshoro, Paretabad and Hala Naka, two water supply pumping stations of Thandi Sarak, 1 MGD Jamshoro and nine sewerage pumping stations.

He said the government had already paid Rs525 million out of Rs1,048 million Wasa owed to Hesco. Power disconnection for two hours made a shortfall of supply of six million gallons of water to the city, he said.

The three days of strike has worsened water shortage across the city even though Wasa’s service is not very appreciable even in normal days.

Nabi Khaskheli of Sheedi village in Qasimabad said the area had not received water for three days and people were facing great hardship.

Syed Jehangir Zaidi of Sadaat Colony in Latifabad Unit Not 11 said that he was distributing water to people of the area from his well he had got dug in his home.

He said that residents of Latifabad always faced water shortage but these days the problem had worsened due to strike by Wasa workers. “Even during normal days, complaints abound of water being turbid and contaminated,” he said.

There are four filter plants, 84 sewerage pumping stations and 24 water supply pumping stations in Hyderabad.

Four filter plants at Hala Naka, Jamshoro road, Paretabad and Latifabad No4 supply 60 million gallons per day while the city needs 80 million gallons a day.

The worst affected localities are Sheedi village, Naseem Nagar, Pakora Stop, Qasimabad Phase-11, Latifabad Unit No’s 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, Dadan Shah, Hirabad, Sarfaraz Colony, Sakhipir, Liaquat Colony, Gari Khata, Circular Building and Khata Chowk.

SUKKUR: Residents in many localities of the city complained on Thursday they had to walk long distances to bring water from hand pumps and water filtration plants as the North Sindh Urban Services Corporation had failed to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted supply of water.

Localities of Microwave Colony, New Pind, Bhoosa Lane, Nawan Goth, Golimar, Choona Bhatta and Ahmed Nagar face the worst shortage of potable water.

Residents of New Goth, Choona Bhatta and New Pind said that NSUSC had failed to deliver and urged the privately owned utility to supply water to thickly populated areas through tankers.