KARACHI: “More than 30 million people” of Karachi are facing an existential water crisis, as the tanker mafia makes a windfall, said Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor here on Sunday.
He said the megacity requires over 1,200 million gallons per day (MGD), yet its aging infrastructure delivers only 450 to 650 MGD a daily shortfall of roughly 600 million gallons.
Nearly 70 percent of the population has endured severe supply disruptions, forcing families to rely on expensive private tankers and exposing millions to waterborne diseases, he said.
But this is not a natural disaster, said Shakoor, it is the result of decades of underinvestment, political neglect, and governance failures—and it is solvable.
He said the root causes are clear. Karachi’s pipeline network spans over 10,000 kilometers, much of it corroded and leaking. Nearly 40 to 50 percent of the megacity’s water is lost before it reaches a single home, with a sophisticated “tanker mafia” siphoning an estimated 150 to 200 MGD through illegal hydrants and industrial suction pumps.
He said repeated power failures at the Dhabeji and North East pumping stations, driven by K-Electric cable faults, have triggered sudden shortfalls of 85 to 100 MGD, paralyzing supply for days, he said.
The long-delayed K-IV bulk water project—originally designed to supply 650 MGD—remains the megacity’s great unfulfilled hope, with costs ballooning from Rs25 billion to over Rs150 billion amid bureaucratic hurdles.
However, Shakoor said relief is not a distant dream. A multi-pronged strategy—combining mega-infrastructure, institutional reform, and technology-driven enforcement—is under way, and it must be accelerated with emergency urgency.
The seawater desalination would be a game-changer for this coastal megacity. Karachi’s coastal geography is its greatest strategic advantage.
He said a Chinese firm is set to install a 50 MGD desalination plant, converting seawater into usable freshwater daily—enough to cover a significant portion of the shortfall.
The Sindh government has approved two additional 5 MGD plants at Ibrahim Hyderi and Lyari, and is negotiating with Shanghai Electric to develop a large-scale desalination facility under a public-private partnership framework, he said. These projects, if fast-tracked, can deliver over 60 MGD of climate-resilient water within the next two to three years, reducing dependence on erratic canal flows and declining groundwater.
He said another viable solution is to complete K-IV on an emergency basis. This project remains indispensable for long-term sustainability. Bringing additional water from Keenjhar Lake through a dedicated bulk supply system will add up to 650 MGD once fully operational.
He said the Pasban Democratic Party has repeatedly demanded that all major water projects—K-IV foremost among them—be completed on an emergency basis.
He further said the third solution, rather a bitter one for corrupt ruling politicians, is to eliminate the tanker mafia. He said the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation has announced a phased abolition of all water hydrants and a transition to a pipeline-dependent distribution model, but like many other ‘political announcements’ it is yet to be implemented.
He said the tanker mafia is the golden egg laying hen of the corrupt ruling politicians and they wouldn’t go to slay it.
He also demanded an end to pumping station blackouts, saying the recurring collapse of water supply due to K-Electric cable faults is unacceptable. He said the KWSC should install its own power generation facilities near it major pumping stations instead of relying on the KE. It should install solar and wind power generation systems over its vast lands.
He said that the megacity must simultaneously invest in rainwater harvesting, artificial groundwater recharge, and the rehabilitation of traditional wells and ponds. These decentralized measures can reduce pressure on the grid, particularly in underserved districts like Orangi Town, where low-income families spend up to Rs15,000 per month on tanker water—a burden that fuels inequality and public health crises.
Shakoor said the solutions exist. The financing is being mobilized. The technology is available. What remains is the political will to treat water not as a political bargaining chip, but as the fundamental right of every citizen.
He said the Sindh government, KWSC, K-Electric, federal agencies, and international partners must convene under a single emergency command structure with transparent, time-bound deliverables.
Karachi generates nearly half of Pakistan’s tax revenue and a quarter of its GDP. A city of such economic consequence cannot be allowed to run dry, he said.
Access to clean, affordable water is not a privilege—it is the foundation of public health, social stability, and national prosperity, he said. “The time for announcements has passed. The time for delivery is now.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026