KARACHI:Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has asked the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) to construct a separate canal from Gujjo to Pipri to provide 200-MGD additional water to megacity Karachi and also directed it to reduce its 30 percent line losses so that 58 MGD water could also be saved for the city.
Presiding over a meeting of KWSB to explore ways and means to improve capacity of the existing system of K-I, II and III, he said water shortage in the megacity should be reduced on urgent basis.
The meeting was told said that the current water demand of the megacity was 1200 MGD against which total water supply was around 406 MGD. There are different systems of bulk water supply provide 406 MGD to the city. They include K-I, 280 MGD, K-II, 100 MGD, K-III 100 MGD, Hub source 100 MGD.
However, the total water allocation for Karachi is 650 MGD. Available water supply capacity is 580 MGD and its line losses have been calculated at 30 percent, which means 174 MGD water is simply wasted due to leakages and theft.
However, the CM asked why the designed capacity of Keenjhar-Gujjo (KG) Canal, 650 MGD was not being used to improve the system. He said that if the system is improved the KWSB would be able bring 200 MGD in the system and if the losses of 174 MD were reduced by 10 percent it would further save 58 MGD.
The chief minister directed the KWSB to construct a canal from Gujjo to Pipri with a capacity of 250 MGD water from where it should be pumped into water supply system of the mega city.
Minister Local Government Syed Nasir Shah said that the project would cost around Rs11 billion. Contracts for some of its portion have already been given for construction a 135-MGD capacity canal. However, the chief minister said it should be of 250 MGD canal. He said he would arrange fund in this regard.
The meeting that Pakistan Steel Mill was getting 28 MGD, and Port Qasim 7 MGD. At this the chief minister said that as Pakistan Steel Mills was not functioning, therefore their requirement must be reassessed. We are giving four MGD to Defence Housing Authority DHA which is much bigger than the area of Steel Town/ Gulshan-e-Hadeed area; therefore, Pakistan Steel Mills’ water requirement must be reassessed, he said.
The meeting was told that 50 percent water losses have been recorded from 100-MGD supply from Hub Dam.
The chief minister said that these losses must be reduced to five to eight percent. He said he would talk to WAPDA authorities for improvement of water supply system of their first 16 kilometers and the KWSB should improve its canal system from Hub Dam to control water losses in its jurisdiction.
The chief minister directed Chairperson P and D Nahid Shah to prepare scheme for canal construction from Keenjhar to Gujjo and improvement of the exiting system of KWSB from Thatta to Dhabeji and from Hub to Karachi. The water board has to make itself a self-sustained organization, he said adding: “we would be supporting the water board but it will have to improve itself.”