One million gallon of drinking water is getting wasted due to leaking water lines in district central of Karachi, exposing citizens to repeated bouts of water scarcity.
KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 15th May, 2018 ) :One million gallon of drinking water is getting wasted due to leaking water lines in district central of Karachi, exposing citizens to repeated bouts of water scarcity.
Chairman, DMC – West, Rehan Hashmi in a statement here Tuesday drawing attention of the authorities towards the issue said the problem in manageable provided there is will to do so.
"Frequent episodes of water shortage in the commercial hub of the country can be rightly attributed to poor water management," he said.
DMC – West chairman emphasized that since Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) has simply failed to deliver and is aggravating problems faced by the people hence it would be appropriate to place it under the control of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC).
"Mayor who is directly elected by the citizens and enjoys public confidence besides having adequate understanding of the civic requirements of locals must be authorized to run KWSB affairs," said Rehan Hashmi.
In context of steady decline in the water level at Haleji lake, the main source of water supply to the metropolis, he said concerned authorities must have been fully cognizant of the situation and therefore had adopted needed interventions on strong lines.
"This should have been done prior to the onset of summers with major focus on efficient water management as well as provision for alternative sources of water supply to the city," he said.

NEW YORK, May 14 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Thirsty Middle Eastern and North African countries could tap into their solar-energy potential to cope with fresh water scarcity, according to resource experts.
Water could be saved by switching to renewable solar energy from fossil fuel electricity generation that uses up water, said the World Resources Institute (WRI).
The findings show moving to clean energy has benefits aside from cutting planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, said Tianyi Luo, a senior WRI manager.
Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan ranked among the top countries, measured by lack of freshwater and solar energy potential, that could benefit from such a switch, the WRI said.
Put another way, powering one 60-watt incandescent light bulb for 12 hours over one a year can consume 3,000 to 6,000 gallons of water, according to the U.S.-based Virginia Water Resources Research Center.
Solar panels, meanwhile, require little or no water to install and maintain.
Yemen, an impoverished nation in the grip of civil war, topped the WRI ranking in terms of water scarcity and how much potential electricity solar farms could produce.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, ranked third.
The project is expected to have the capacity to produce up to 200 gigawatts by 2030.
(Reporting by Sebastien Malo @sebastienmalo, Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst

Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallaire, Dr. James Orbinski to Speak at First Annual Water for Peace Event in Support of the Rainmaker Enterprise On Saturday, June 2nd, 2018 at 7PM, the Rainmaker Enterprise will host the first annual Water for Peace cocktail reception at the Spoke Club in downtown Toronto.
The event gathers humanitarians, environmental champions, peace activists, and industry leaders to learn, connect, and act on the water crisis.
Water for Peace features keynote remarks by Lieutenant General (retired) the Honourable Roméo Dallaire and guest speech by Dr. James Orbinski, both of whom have devoted their lives to working on the frontlines of humanitarian crises, where lack of access to water drives conflict and human suffering.
Guest speakers also include Cecilia Adeng, the Deputy Permanent Representative of South Sudan to the United Nations; and James Madhier, who has devoted his life to providing water for dignity as the Founder and Executive Director of the Rainmaker Enterprise.
These individuals understand the ultimate importance of water and are bringing this issue to all Canadians through Water for Peace.
All funds raised are in support of the Rainmaker Enterprise’s sustainable and scalable projects using solar energy to provide access to water in war-torn regions.
The Rainmaker Enterprise has gained global recognition in its first year of operation.
In 2017, the organization was shortlisted for the United Nations Environment Programme’s Young Champions of the Earth Award.
During the summit in Milan, the Rainmaker Enterprise received the Gruppo CAP Award as the most promising emerging organization addressing the water crisis.
For more information and to purchase event tickets, please visit www.waterforpeace.ca.

The ministry of climate change implemented policy for clean drinking water and sanitation 2018-19, particularly, in rural areas with the help of provincial governments, said an official here on Monday ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 14th May, 2018 ) :The ministry of climate change implemented policy for clean drinking water and sanitation 2018-19, particularly, in rural areas with the help of provincial governments, said an official here on Monday.
According to the official data, the supply of drinkable water and sanitation services (WSS) requires special attention as presently a large number of households do not have access to enough potable or shallow water and there is lack of proper sanitation system.
The official said that poor sanitation led to sickness as well as negative impact of ecosystem.
Due to water scarcity in the country, waste water treatment was imperative for the continuous and affluent supply of water for agriculture in future.
Despite having the potential and capacity of our industry for designing and fabricating waste water/sewage treatment plants locally, only a meager portion of industrial waste water was being treated and reused, he added.

Castigates PDP-BJP for ignoring grievances of Anganwadi Workers, SSA teachers
Poonch, May 13 (KNS): National Conference leader, Ajaz Jan today expressed concern over lackadaisical approach of the government in repairing damaged transformers and scarcity of drinking water in Mandi, along LoC in Poonch district.
He urged the concerned departments to solve the issues of people living close to Line of Control.
The Provicial Youth National Conference during his two days tour President visited several villages in the forward area and took stock of problems faced to the people.
Ajaz Jan said that a number of water supply schemes are lying defunct with concerned department showing insensitivity in undertaking repairs so as to ensure regulated water supply.
"People are facing crisis like situation due to water scarcity in summer season.
"Government should ensure that water pumping stations are properly operated and water supply is made available to the areas suffering the most," Jan said and sought deployment of water tankers in the affected areas.
Ajaz Jan highlighted the shortage of ration on the PDS sale outlets and asked the government to ensure that ration in adequate quantity is made available, especially proper supply of sugar is ensured.
Jan also castigated the state government for turning blind eye towards grievances of some sections of employees including Anganwadi Workers and SSA teachers, terming government approach towards the agitation of these officials as highly deplorable.
Several local NC leaders and senior citizens of area who accompanied Ajaz Jan during two days tour include Ab Ahad Bhat, Mohd Afzal Awan, Ch Saleem khari, Ab Jabar Tantray, Wali Mohd Tantray, Wazir Mohd Tantray, Ismaeel Bhat, Khalil Lone, Ab Razaq Khawaja.

KARIMNAGAR: Popular pilgrim towns of Vemulawada in erstwhile Karimnagar – Kondagattu and Dharmapuri – are facing severe water scarcity.
Such is the condition that the authorities at Vemulawada are not giving rooms to devotees citing non-availability of water.
According to temple authorities, there are nearly 527 rooms, including those for VIPs, in the vicinity of the famous Vemulawada temple.
On Monday, Friday and Sundays, when the pilgrim rush is generally at its peak, there is a requirement of 20 to 22 lakh litres of water for the temple while on the normal days, the requirement is around 12 lakh litres.
The supply of water is being jointly shared by the Nagara Panchyat and Temple authorities.
Incidentally, at present only 9 lakh litres of water is being supplied.
Of this, 5 lakh litres is being used by the Nagara Panchyat and the remaining is left for the temple.
This has led to a severe water crisis forcing the pilgrims to stay in private lodges.
When questioned about the existing water crisis, Vemulawada temple executive officer Dusa Rajeshwar told Express that such problems persists only in 10% of the temple rooms.
Kumara Swamy, a devotee, who went for darshan alleged that he was forced to take a dip in muddy water as taps are lying defunct.

KOZHIKODE: Severe water shortage put patients and their bystanders in huge difficulty at the Govt.
Ironically, rain, that lashed the city on the previous night, was the culprit for the unexpected water scarcity.
Pump sets at Mavoor and Kuzhimal, that supply water to the MCH, were burned in the heavy lightening and shower on Wednesday.
With the pumping stopped, water supply to the hospital was cut for the day.
A large queue of bystanders with pots and buckets were seen waiting for water from 5 o’clock in the morning.
With water supply cut, authorities brought water from several other sources in small vehicles to meet the large need.
On Thursday, MCH authorities could only supply 2 lakh litres, which left many patients and their bystanders go without water.
"We had to wait in a queue for more than four hours in the morning to get a small bucket of water," said Ramanathan Nair, a bystander.
This is nothing new to MCH.
This is the second incident in the last one week.

Jammu Kashmir Public Health Engineering Department sets up cells in all 10 districts of Jammu region Jammu, May 10 Facing regular complaints against field staff and engineers for not addressing consumers’ complaints, especially regarding the water scarcity, the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department has established 24X7 control rooms at the district level.
According to officials, the control rooms had been set up in each division of 10 districts of the Jammu region during the summer.
Not only the demand shoots up, but the unscheduled power cuts leave infrastructure shut for hours.
Monsoon rains too affect the capacity of the lifting stations run by the department.
“The helpline numbers will be made public after an official meeting on May 12.
Clear directions have been issued to the engineers and field staff to give priority to water supply and take strict steps against private tanker operators who are reportedly fleecing people,” said AK Gandotra, Chief Engineer, PHE department, Jammu.
There have also been complaints that the “water mafia” along with some “corrupt elements” in the PHE department don’t regularly supply water, forcing consumers to buy water from private operators.
It is a big headache for people, especially during the summer when the supply is irregular,” said Tarsem Lal, a resident of Lakshmipuram, Bantalab.
The water requirement in Jammu is 65.12 million gallon daily (MGD), which is mainly met by two sources — surface and ground water.
“In case of any problem we have no contact numbers of the PHE department.

The observers will visit different pockets every fortnight for at least two to three days to collect reports on the supply status.
The observers will also verify manual complaint registers and enquire about repaired tube-wells and the piped water supply system to ensure its functioning.
Their job brief also includes reporting to the government on the functioning of water supply and sanitation committees.
The observers will have to identify water scarcity pockets and intimate the ward water monitors.
"We have decided to stringently monitor drinking water supply.
The move to appoint water observers aims to strengthen the supply network," said Pheo superintending engineer C.R.
Jena.
The Pheo has also come up with other plans to supply water.
"We want to remain alert for which such steps are necessary.
We have a 24×7 control room for complaints."

DAMOH: Due to the problem of water scarcity in the Madhya Pradesh’s Damoh district, the girls of government hostel have to travel four kilometers daily to use the toilet.
The girls of the government hostel travel every day with their school teacher and other maids with buckets to use the toilet.
"My friends and I along with our teacher walks two kilometers every day to use the toilet, due to the water crisis in the area," a student said.
Even after having two borewells in the region the girls face hardship as the water of both the bore wells goes dry at the beginning of the season.
"The borewell goes dry every season, but usually we get water through tanker.
But this time we did not even have that," said the warden of the hostel.
Taking cognizance of the issue, the collector of the district said that they have informed about the matter to the higher authority, but are yet to receive any help from them.
"There is water shortage; we are trying to solve it.
We have informed the authority, soon some solution would be found out," said the collector.