Fundamental Right

Despite Sukkur Municipal Corporation’s tall claims, Sindh’s third largest city lacks access to safe drinking water

Sukkur: The provision of basic facilities in urban and rural areas is the responsibility of the provincial government and municipal institutions, but in Sindh, people appear to be deprived of these services.

Sukkur, which is Sindh’s third largest and most densely populated city, is located on the banks of the Indus River and has a Municipal Corporation that facilitates the citizens. However, despite the presence of the government entity, the citizens of this area lack access to safe drinking water.

Even today, the urban population does not have access to safe drinking water, and many areas of the city, including New Pind, Qureshi Goth, Bhosa Line, and Old Sukkur, have been left without it for several days. On the one hand, drinking water is not supplied for several days, and, on the other hand, the water supplied is unsuitable for human consumption.

Meanwhile, well-known politicians, including the Federal Minister for Water Resources Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah, Sindh Local Government (LG) Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, former Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, and incumbent Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, have promised the opposite in their messages to Sukkur residents.

Several times, the government and these political figures claimed that a filter plant was being assembled to provide clean drinking water to the people of Sukkur. It was also claimed that Rs540 million had been set aside specifically for this purpose. Furthermore, an entire system was also installed to obtain water, but the problem of providing drinking water safe for consumption remains unsolved.

The situation is that the citizens of Sukkur are being given water to drink that is completely unsafe. The Bandar Road waterworks are polluted and located on the banks of the Indus River. Residents get their water from here as well as from the waterworks’ ponds. At the same time, water is transported to ponds located on Qureshi Road outside of town, where it is supplied to citizens.

After examining the water ponds and the water supplied to the citizens, it was discovered that the ponds contain unfiltered, dirty, and smelly water. There was no system in place; instead, river water was held in these ponds for a period of time before being distributed.

This filthy and polluted water is being supplied to the people of the city. Until recently, the Sukkur Municipal Corporation was responsible for providing drinking water to the citizens, but the process of supplying drinking water proved to be a disastrous endeavor.

Amir Hani Muslim, Chairman of the Water Commission, instructed the Sindh government to transfer responsibility for drinking water supply to the Public Health Department a few years ago. Despite multiple complaints, the Public Health Department officers never met with the citizens, and the department never took any action regarding drinking water supply or water filtration.

As a result, the citizens of Sukkur faced problems: on the one hand, they did not have clean drinking water, and on the other, drinking water was not supplied in several areas for many days, with no one from the Public Health Department listening to their complaints.

This situation persists to the present day, with Sukkur residents still drinking contaminated water. Furthermore, there are reports that the Sindh government has once again delegated the responsibility of supplying drinking water to the Sukkur Municipal Corporation.

The Sindh government’s claims, according to Jawaid Memon, President of the Sukkur Development Alliance (SDA), are significant, but they have been proven false.

“The city has been abandoned; several areas have been without drinking water for many days; people are protesting; and when water is supplied, it is so dirty and polluted that it cannot even be used for washing clothes, let alone drinking,” he added.

“The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has been in power in Sindh for 14 years, but the party has yet to provide clean drinking water to the citizens of Sukkur,” said Jawaid Memon.

As a consequence, citizens are forced to pay exorbitant prices for drinking water; however, people in impoverished areas who cannot afford mineral water are forced to obtain drinking water from underground hand pumps.

He went on to say that the city’s situation is dire, but the government and district administration are just silent spectators. Memon also stated that there are protests taking place throughout the city due to a lack of drinking water or the supply of contaminated water.

“We have also protested several times, but the provincial government is asleep and is unconcerned about the people’s problems. Nonetheless, citizens continue to protest and demand that the government provide them with clean water for consumption, which is their fundamental right,” the SDA president maintained.

Moreover, Muhammad Ali Sheikh, Municipal Commissioner of Sukkur Municipal Corporation, stated that the Sindh government established a department called Operation and Maintenance (O&M), under which the Public Health Department is responsible for lifting water from the Indus River and delivering it to the ponds, adding that the municipal corporation is then responsible for ensuring water to the citizens, and its staff also operates the water supply valves installed on the pipelines.

In addition, he said that if there is a report of a break in the drinking water pipelines in an area, it is also maintained by the Municipal Corporation’s staff.

According to the municipal commissioner, the Public Health Department is in charge of cleaning the water ponds at the water works and applying Aluminium Sulfate (or alum) to filter the water.

“Citizens can get clean water if regular cleaning is done and alum is applied to the water for filtration,” Muhammad Ali Sheikh noted.