Residents say water has been diverted as Qayyumabad faces a years-long shortage, blocking Karachi’s key artery in protest.
Residents of Karachi’s Qayyumabad and neighboring areas faced inconvenience for hours on Friday as they took to the streets due to prolonged water shortage and suspended supply, blocking traffic and causing massive traffic jams in surrounding localities.
Protesters blocked Qayyumabad Chowrangi by parking vehicles and tankers on the road. They carried sticks and allegedly attacked some people during the demonstration.
The protest began immediately after Friday prayers, disrupting traffic towards Defense, Korangi Industrial Area and Sharea Faisal. Vehicles were stuck in long queues for several hours.
According to the protesters, Qayyumabad has been facing severe water shortage for three years. They explained that water was previously only supplied for a short period, every two days.
They claimed that water previously allocated to Qayyumabad was now being diverted by the provincial government to Defense and Ibrahim Hyderi, which they claimed was a political constituency of the ruling party.
To end the protest, Deputy Commissioner (AC) of Shah Faisal Town Abdul Samee, along with police officers, arrived at Qayyumabad Chowrangi. However, the demonstrators announced that they would continue their demonstration until the arrival of officials from the Water Board.
AC Samee said he was present at the scene to maintain law and order.
After being blocked for almost four hours, police ended the demonstration after negotiations with the demonstrators, after which they dispersed peacefully and traffic was restored.
