Karachi Water Crisis: Court Furious Over Orangi Town Water Shortage, Blasts Water Corporation

KARACHI (International News): A Karachi court expressed strong displeasure over the persistent water crisis in Orangi Town on Saturday, directing the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) to immediately end the tanker supply system and ensure water reaches residents through the existing pipeline network, while also demanding a formal explanation from the authority.
During the hearing, the presiding judge raised a pointed question: “If water is available, why is it not being supplied through the pipelines?” The court observed that the continued reliance on a tanker-based distribution system, despite functional water line infrastructure being in place, was inexplicable and amounted to a deliberate failure to serve the public.
The court directed that the tanker system be discontinued and that the corporation fulfil its fundamental obligation of supplying water through proper lines to the citizens of Orangi Town without further delay.
The bench expressed concern that the tanker mafia continues to thrive under the nose of civic authorities, exploiting the water scarcity to financially burden already impoverished residents, many of whom spend a significant portion of their daily income on purchasing water from private tankers.
Orangi Town, one of the most densely populated localities in Karachi, has suffered from a severe and chronic water shortage for years. Millions of residents have long been forced to depend on costly water tankers due to the corporation’s failure to maintain and operate the pipeline infrastructure effectively.
Legal observers say the court’s intervention signals growing judicial impatience with civic bodies over the deteriorating state of basic utilities in Pakistan’s largest city.