KARACHI:
Another disruption to the water supply, another ordeal for the residents of Karachi – a pattern that has been repeated so often that it seems ingrained in the city’s daily reality. The metropolis was once again hit by a serious water crisis, with 50 to 60 percent of areas facing a suspension of water supply over the weekend, while fire hydrants reportedly continued to operate without interruption.
An unannounced shutdown of K-Electric at the Dhabeji pumping station on Saturday disrupted water supply to a large part of the metropolis. The situation worsened on Sunday when a power outage occurred at North East Karachi (NEK) pumping station, further affecting water distribution in various localities.
Officials and residents said water supply disruptions have become a recurring phenomenon in the city, even as government-run hydrants continue to operate normally.
Meanwhile, Karachiites are increasingly forced to resort to expensive water tankers to meet their daily needs amid growing shortages.
Officials of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) said K-Electric abruptly suspended electricity supply on Saturday, affecting water distribution in almost half of the city. Although power was restored after about two hours, another outage at the NEK pumping station quickly followed, worsening the crisis.
Areas subject to the weekly water rationing system were among the worst affected. Localities that were due to receive water on Saturday and Sunday reportedly did not receive supplies and will now have to wait for the next cycle.
Officials further said that even a brief interruption in pumping operations in Dhabeji can take 10 to 20 hours to return to normal, leading to widespread delays in city-wide distribution.
A KWSC spokesperson said that after power was restored to Dhabeji, operations resumed using 21 pumps, but full stabilization of the system would take time. The outage occurred around 3 a.m. on May 31 at the NEK pumping station, partially disrupting the city’s water supply system.
K-Electric technical teams were called to the site, where they identified a failure in the main transmission cable supplying electricity to the K-II pumping station.
The outage led to emergency measures by KWSC, including a temporary return of power to the K-III charger. Electricity was partially restored around 5 a.m.; however, limited capacity prevented the full resumption of pumping operations.
Officials said the city is currently facing a deficit of 54 million gallons per day (MGD) due to the disruptions. They warned that if the problem was not permanently corrected, further deterioration in water supply and distribution schedules could occur across the city.
The KWSC urged K-Electric to immediately repair the fault and ensure uninterrupted power supply to the pumping stations to avoid further hardship for citizens.
MQM-P demonstration
water woes
The MQM-P sharply criticized the prolonged water supply interruptions, calling the situation “criminal negligence” on the part of the city’s water and electricity utilities.
In a statement issued by the party’s central committee, the MQM-P said the power outage in Dhabeji and pipeline ruptures caused by back pressure had once again plunged Karachi into a severe water crisis during the intense summer heat.
The party said millions of gallons of water supplies had been suspended due to repeated technical and electrical outages, leading to what it described as the collapse of the city’s water distribution system.
The MQM-P argued that frequent power outages at a critical facility like Dhabeji and recurring pipeline failures could no longer be treated as routine technical issues. Rather, it reflected “serious administrative failure and negligence” on the part of K Electric and KWSC.
They claimed that more than 40 million Karachi residents were forced to rely on expensive tanker supplies, while accusing authorities of failing to control what they called an “oil tanker mafia” operating amid the crisis.
