By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)
Muhammad Suleman Chandio, Advisor, Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KW&SB), has warned the concerned authorities about the possibilities of grave water crisis if remedial and preemptive actions were not taken immediately. He has also demanded for the forensic audit of the K-IV project.
The ex-Special Secretary (Technical) to Local Government Department, Government of Sindh, and a former Managing Director of the KWSB, in an interview with PNFS, pointed out that it’s for the first time in the last 63 years when the shortage of water at entry of Sindh, Gudoo Barrage, is 60%.
“Karachi has Keenjhar Lake as the only storage for the metropolis. The levels of lake are rapidly decreasing from 54 feet to 47 feet whereas dead level is 43 feet after which water cannot be accepted by the KW&SB K-G Canal. The inflow now entering in Lake is less than daily drawl 1200 cusecs/650 MGD from lake so lake levels are rapidly decreasing. The rate of decrease of level in two weeks is one foot and now consumption of balance of four Ft level will take in hardly less than two months,” he remarked.
“There is still one month more required to reach water at Guddoo Barrage and from that to Keenjhar it travels in three weeks. In case of theft in K.B Feeder dead level may come early than receipt of water of glaciers water. That situation will be very dangerous for more than 20 million people of Karachi. Riots can erupt in whole city which will not be controllable if there’s no water available in Karachi,” he added.
Suleman Chandio urged the civil and military agencies to take it as SOS message to ensure that any case there shall be no further reduction of Keenjhar Level and shall be maintained a few feet above dead level of 43 feet. Corp-5 Headquarter may establish an Emergency Centre and control the situation in advance before it becomes too late.
“The current situation reflects the worst storage position for the present drawl of 1200 cusecs/650 MGD. What will happen when we will draw additional 1200 cusecs/650 MGD for total 2400 cusecs/1300 MGD for which no additional storage other than Keenjhar Lake is available because due to wrong Route of K-IV which is situated high upon Kheerther-Range Mountain for vested interest for two famous housing towns and there will be zero water for K-IV during non-season as per usual phenomenon,” the KW&SB official regretted.
“The present K-IV route is totally failure in result of finding of NESPAK as third party in 2019, failure in availability of water storage, failure of intake from Lake, failure being in belt of earthquake zone, unnecessary Power House being established, unnecessary extra staff colonies and malafiedly tendered without feasibility of new scope of work based upon in about 120 kilometers,” he felt.
“Pipelines scope of work has been suggested by the blue-eyed contractors of high ups and now K-IV under execution with WAPDA is totally failure. WAPDA's consultants did not undertake all the required surveys, studies on ground and any selection of pipeline scope of work and any design in absence of these actual ground surveys, studies stayed useless and malafide,” Suleman Chandio revealed.
“Strangely why feasibly study before preparation of PC-I has been ignored although this step for 146 billion engineering mega project can't be condoned or bypassed by Government of Pakistan and how fictitious pipe design and tenders were floated and how work orders were issued in absence of all requirements mentioned above,” he questioned.
He demanded forensic audit be performed and the work orders issued to consultants and contractors regarding K-IV shall be cancelled until the arrival of audit report.
