KARACHI: Baldia Town No 3 must be the most severely hit by the water crisis faced by the entire city. Residents say that water is supplied there only four times in a year, usually from half an hour to 50 minutes. So it was a time to rejoice when they received this year`s second water supply in the early hours of Monday morning.

But the residents complained that the water was not fit for consumption. `For the first 10 minutes, the water coming from the pipes into our tanks was extremely dirty and stinking. Then it cleared up somewhat and after 20 minutes it stopped. Now we`ll wait for another three to four months before getting our next supply,` said Musa Jamal Haji of Ghanchi Mohalla in Baldia No 3.

`It was not so bad earlier when we got water in our lines af ter every 10 to 12 days.

That was four years ago. But four times in one year now is unacceptable. We have complained about this everywhere but to no avail. Then we decided to protest. We came out of our homes and blocked the main Lasbela Road,` said Mohsin Hussain of Anjam Colony, also located in Baldia No 3.

Qasim Bhai, who hails from Jan Nagar there said that during the sit-in, they were also fired at by the police. `Their bullets injured two of our neighbours but we remained out there fighting for a basic right, the right to clean drinking water, not available to us in this day and age,` he said.

`We only wrapped up our protest when the local governments minister promised to set things right in one-and-a-half months.

It has been over two weeks since and there seems to be no improvement so far. Let`s see what transpires.Mohammad Ismail of Gujrat Mohalla, another neighbourhood in the same area, said that the Pakistan Rangers had brought them some relief. `Ten days ago, we started getting a supply of 21 tankers a day, thanks to help from the Rangers. But they fill this underground water supply tank of our area, or awami tanki as it is called, from where we come to fill water to take back home in our containers,` he said.

There were endless lines of blue plastic drums, cannisters, buckets and bottles outside the water supply tank. Some had been marked by their owners to prevent getting mixed up with other containers. Others had their owners standing guard beside them. An elderly man loaded his water cans on a trolley to take back home. Women and young girls and boys, too, stood in queue for water coming out from three narrow pipes passed through the walls.

`It`s good that we have our school holidays now. It allows us to come here to fetch water for home. Otherwise, our fathers are away at work and we are in school and our mothers or sisters have to come here for this,` said Mohammad Zaheer, a teenager, who was there with some other neighbourhood boys from Dehli Mohalla. `Standing in queue in the evenings here is even worse because of the mosquitoes,` he added.

Meanwhile, his friend Bilal Hamza wondered why they could not get water the normal way through a line. `After all, this 21 tankers a day supply is also coming from somewhere, is it not? Why can`t that water come directly into our underground tanks? Why stand and wait here for hours? Why carry heavy loads on our shoulders orborrow trolleys for Rs20 to Rs50 an hour for this basic necessity? We are not millionaires to be able to buy tankers worth thousands of rupees so we are made to suffer like this,` he said.

`It is my fourth round to this place todaywith my water cannisters. I have witnessed fights breaking out between frustrated people here who may realise that one or two of their containers are missing or have been stolen. Yesterday, I even brought my iftari here with me because I knew that by the time I get my fill it will be after Maghrib,` said Zainab Bano, also of Ghanchi Mohallah.

MD, Water Board explains problem Throwing light on the issue, Karachi Water and Sewerage Board managing director Misbahuddin Farid said he was aware of the suffering of people in Baldia No 3 and that was why he had arranged for the water to reach them through tankers with the Rangers` cooperation. `I am supplying around 100,000 gallons per day to them through tankers,` he said.

`All in all I am supplying some 400,000 gallons of water daily to dif ferent localities in Baldia and Orangi Town daily. But, of course, it being hot and Ramazan, too, have increased people`s requirements leading to lesser water being pumped from the Shershah junction.

He explained that one of the problems for the grave water shortage in these areas was due to their not receiving their share of water of 100 million gallons per day (MGD) from the Hub Dam now. `So we are getting water for these areas from the Indus river, which amounts to around 80 to 85 MGD. And that, too, we can supply after four-day gaps as the rest of the days the same water goes to North Karachi,` the MD said.

`Another problem for us, which is a huge nuisance, is water being stolen from Nazimabad. I have requested the law enforcement authorities to look into that matter as well. If that is controlled, we can expect some improvement in the situation.