Water shortage further scares citizens amid coronavirus lockdown

Despite the coronavirus lockdown in Karachi, citizens continue to face the long-standing problem of water shortage in various parts of the metropolis.

“How do people wash hands, clean themselves if there is no water at homes,” said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lawmaker Bilal Ghafar while speaking with The News on Tuesday.

The MPA said the water shortage could spoil the efforts to curb the virus spread as people having no water at home were compelled to go out of home get water for their families.

It is worth noting here that Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah while announcing the lockdown had directed all utilities to supply the necessaries services and commodities, such as electricity, gas and water, to the residents without any interruption.

Ghafar alleged that “an artificial shortage of water has been created” in various blocks of the Gulistan-e-Johar neighbourhood. “On the one side, the government has been asking the residents to stay at homes, and on the other hand, the water board administration has been showing its incompetence by not providing water to them,” said Ghaffar, who has been elected from PS-103.

He said residents of the Gulistan-e-Johar area had been suffering from the shortage of water for the past three days and they had also registered their complaints through protests and letters. “But they are still deprived of water. The Sindh government should take notice of the situation,” he said.

The PTI lawmaker said because of the spread of the pandemic virus had caused panic among the people and therefore those who had water were washing hands regularly. “But what about the ones who have been deprived of water,” he asked.

Similarly, residents in Baldia Town’s various areas, including Rashid Abad and Afridi Colony, are complaining about the shortage of water. Fazal Malik, a resident of the Afridi Colony, said his area had been facing water shortage since the announcement of the lockdown. “Residents reached out to water authorities on their telephone numbers to complain about the water shortages in the area, but the water supply has not been restored yet,” he said.