Karachi Water and Sewerage Board will launch a multi-billion rupee project to control the water leakage and remove old pipes and rusting joints, said sources.
Sources said the federal government for which the World Bank would provide aid, has recently approved the project. The actual cost of the project could not be known but the World Bank had estimated Rs 3 billion in 1988. The cost has increased manifold, said the sources.
According to details, old water pipes causing constant leakage's would be removed under the project. The rusted joints causing damage of pipes and leakages would also be removed.
Karachi has been facing water crisis for more than 35 years and any government found no serious solution.
The City government says that due to broken pipes, leakages and rusted joints Karachi used to loss 35 percent water supplied through the Hub Dam and Kinger Lake.
The daily requirement of Karachi is 660 million gallons water per day. The supply is short of requirement, while the loss makes it more critical for the city. City government officials believe that the population of the city is 13 million instead of 10 million, which the federal government insists.
A former mayor of Karachi claims that the city is facing 45 percent loss of water and if the leakage's come under control, water crisis would be over. Generally, the loss of water is 10 to 12 percent in big cities world over while in the cities, like London and Paris, it is just 4 percent.
Shortage of water is another financial burden on the citizens of the city as people in many areas are used to buy water tankers, which cost Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 per middle class family per month.