Karachi residents are still buying water from tankers, waiting days for a trickle from ageing pipes and watching groundwater levels fall deeper every year. In many parts of the city, water that was once accessible at a depth of 20 feet now requires drilling more than 100 feet.The water board supplies roughly 450 million gallons per day against a demand of more than 1,200 million gallons. The gap is filled by an informal tanker mafia that charges ordinary families prices that make water one of their largest monthly expenses.
The recent heatwave in Sindh, with temperatures exceeding 51C, has made the shortage even graver. Meanwhile, illegal connections, leaking infrastructure and distribution losses waste a large share of the water that enters the system. Karachi’s water crisis is not a natural disaster. It is the result of decades of underinvestment, political neglect and failed governance in a city that has never been treated with the seriousness its size and contribution deserve.
Haroon Rana
Karachi
