Karachi’s water

Karachi’s water woes are nothing we do not already know about. What is surprising is how little has been done about the reasons for the water crisis in the city. We know that one of the many reasons for the water shortages faced by the city’s residents is the use of illegal water hydrants. The issue of shutting down  these hydrants has been raised many a time, but neither the Karachi Water Supply Board nor the Karachi Municipal Corporation has taken definitive action. Another call to take action against illegal hydrants has now been issued by the Supreme Court, which has given the KWSB a week to shut them down. It will now be required to issue fresh tenders for the hydrants to ensure the supply of water to areas facing scarcity. The SC noted that Karachi appears to have been abandoned both by the country’s political elite and the local-level municipal authorities tasked will fulfilling the simple  duty of ensuring that the most basic conditions of life are met.

Like previous SC orders such as those on illegal billboards, it is likely that little action will be taken on the issue with the urgency expected by the honourable court.  The court has also suggested the KWSB propose a list of experts who could devise a way out of the city’s water crisis. While we must appreciate the honourable judges of the SC, it is always shocking to note that solutions to major issues tend to require no great genius. It is a waste of the court’s time if matters that fall within the purview of the municipal authorities are coming before it. The administrative lapses in the KWSB are quite obvious – some of them to do with ghost employees. It is the inability of the political authorities to ensure that the basic norms of water supply are met that is even more exasperating. Scarcity produces the conditions conducive  to mafias. In Karachi, the water mafia is one of the most profitable illegal ventures which thrives on an artificial scarcity of water The lack of political will in tackling Karachi’s water issues is so severe that the SC has warned that it will form a committee of district judges to solve the issue. This will be a highly embarrassing situation for the provincial and city government authorities. They must take the SCs warning with utmost seriousness.