‘Dirty business’ stalls potable water project

Text and photos by Amar Guriro

KARACHI: Camels grazing in the mangrove forest, small fishing boats anchored on shore and naked children playing with dead fish. This scene can be a great opening to a documentary however reality paints a different picture of it.

No one knows the decades of pain the residents of Kaka Pir Goth, a small fishing village near Hawksbay in the outskirts of the city, have suffered. The small village is one of the oldest seaside settlements of the city.
Driving speeding vehicles on broken roads in the humidity, the hurrying picnickers heading towards the huts spread along Hawksbay and Sandspit beaches have never bothered to stop at the village and ask how life is doing there.

Locals say that more than 100,000 picnickers cross the village on Sundays, but despite such a large number visiting the area, the miseries of the village have never made headlines.

Comprising of 127 households and having a population of 650, Kaka Pir is deprived of the basic amenity of potable water. The federal government laid down a pipeline in the area in the late 70s however, it was never made functional and during the last three decades, the villagers either buy potable water or bring it form far away places, hoping that one day they will get water from the government.
However, their dreams remain just dreams until, discovering their difficulties, a multinational paint manufacturing company financed a two kilometer long pipeline project to provide potable water to the village. The news spread like wildfire. However it didn’t take long for their dreams to be crushed as when some influential people of the area, who sold water to the villagers, got wind of the news, they forcibly halted the project.
The construction material for the project is lying idle in the heat. “After hearing the news, we thought that at last our miseries will end, but now it seems we have to suffer for another three decades for water,” said a village fisherwoman.

The village elders remember the winter morning in the late 70s when a team of five arrived and announced that the federal government has planned a water supply scheme for the village. “I remember the day when the team came to our village and we heard that the then Prime Minister Zulfqar Ali Bhutto ordered the provision of water.
The team came to survey the village before laying the pipeline,” said elderly Hashim, adding that the villagers were so happy that no one went fishing and remained in the village to celebrate the news.

After the team’s visit, labourers started digging in the village and the pipeline was laid. Though, the pipeline was installed, the residents of Kaka Pir Goth never received a drop of water. “The pipeline project was completed and then Bhutto was hanged, so authorities forgot to supply water to the pipeline,” said UC Councilor Abdul Ghani.

For the past three decades, water remains a precious commodity for the villagers. The village residents have several relatives in other coastal villages and none of them agree to wed their daughters to the people in this village because of the water problem. From this, one can gauge how the absence of potable water socially affects the people. The nearest place from where water can be bought is two kilometers away.

As the villagers have to go a long distance to fetch water, they consume it with caution and thus, many suffer from kidney related problems. During the visit, this scribe found several physically disabled people; anyone could have can guess that they might be victims of the lack of potable water.

The reason this scribe visited the village was because of the good news of water being supplied there, but the news became sour when the influential people practiced their influence.
The villagers were so afraid of the ‘influential’ that no one dared to name names. “We don’t want any conflict, we are thankful to the company who has came forward with the project and we request that the pipeline be completed so we can finally get potable water,” said a resident.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Daily Times

Water hopes dying

Text and photo by Amar Guriro

After a tedious 11-year wait, the excavation of the Reservoir Branch has finally been initiated. It is an important canal linking the River Indus with the Haleji Lake. The Reservoir Branch was once the biggest reservoir for Karachi.

The Karachi Water and Sewerage board (KWSB) had opted to siphon water from an alternate source, the Gujjo minor, after a scuffle with the Sindh Wildlife Department.

During a visit of the area, this scribe found de-silting cranes and excavators busy at zero point, the point where the river meets the lake. Tall weeds, mounds of silt and the rusted wheels and gates of the regulators came across as consequences of the tussle between the government departments.

KWSB record reveals that in the past, the canal was taking 2,200 cusecs from Kalri Baghar or KB feeder, an off canal of the River Indus, but for several months, the irrigation department has not been releasing water.

The Haleji Lake was built by the British government to facilitate American and British troops stationed in the city during World War II and have since surfaced as a permanent potable water source.

At a time, it used to be a freshwater lake and was said to be birdwatchers’ heaven, as birds from Siberia, Russia and other cold countries flocked to the lake in large numbers.

The lake, despite being a wildlife sanctuary and having been declared a Ramsar site, is slowly dying due to the lack of freshwater. After it was declared a wildlife sanctuary and the irrigation department halted its due water share, the KWSB completely stopped taking water from the lake.

“KWSB has not only stopped taking water but has also transferred the board staff to Karachi,” said a KWSB employee, adding that, till 2002, there were about 352 staffers, including Baildaar, supervisors, line guards and security guards deployed at Haleji but only 45 remain now.

The condition of the KWSB water station at Haleji is also steadily deteriorating as the board has, more or less, abandoned it. On contact, KWSB Technical Service Deputy Managing Director Ali Muhammad Palijo denied reports of the tussle, stating that when the irrigation department stopped the supply of freshwater, the KWSB simply turned to the alternate Gujjo canal.

“KWSB acquired the lake from the Sindh government in 1942, therefore, it is the rightful owner, so to say, of the lake,” he said, reiterating that there is no conflict between the board and the wildlife department.

According to Palijo, in the absence of freshwater from River Indus, the ammonia levels have increased to a point that has rendered the lake water useless.

He rejected the assumption that by taking water from Gujjo canal, the KWSB has lost a reservoir of the lake. “We have several small reservoirs on Gharo, Pipri, TOD Hills, North East Karachi, Hub Dam and other reservoirs, so our decision to stop taking water from Haleji Lake does not mean we have lost a reservoir of the city,” he said.

Provincial Minister for Wildlife Daya Ram Essrani said he is not aware of the ownership issue of the lake but said that even his department is suffering due to the lack of fresh water from River Indus.

“We have brought it to the notice of the irrigation department that freshwater is essential for the survival of the lake and hope that the matter will be resolved soon,” he said.

Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Daily Times