Sindh CM Orders Fast-Tracking of K-IV and K.B. Feeder Lining to Tackle Karachi Water Shortage

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has instructed provincial authorities to abandon the view that Karachi's water shortages are an unavoidable act of nature and instead approach the problem as a leakage issue with a measurable and fixable cost, according to a statement issued after a high-level review meeting on water availability.

Chairing the meeting, the chief minister directed officials to curb water wastage and improve irrigation efficiency, signalling a shift from emergency crisis management toward addressing the losses that occur within the existing supply system. The centrepiece of the new push is the lining of the K.B. Feeder and the K-IV project, both of which the CM ordered to be fast-tracked so that Karachi can draw more water from infrastructure it already has.

Murad Ali Shah asked officials to calculate the water savings expected from the feeder lining work and incorporate those figures directly into future water planning. The approach effectively means quantifying what leakage costs the city and then budgeting around the recovered volume rather than relying solely on new supply projects.

The chief minister also moved to tighten coordination between the Irrigation Department and the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC), two agencies that have historically traded blame when the city's taps run dry. Both have been told to monitor reserves at Keenjhar Lake and to finalise arrangements ahead of the upcoming canal and Kotri Barrage closure.

The directives reframe Karachi's water challenge as one of retention as much as generation, with officials noting that a city which routinely loses water to ageing canals and unlined feeders cannot solve its shortages through new construction alone. The government appears to be betting that plugging leaks, both physical and administrative, is the fastest route to putting more water back into Karachi's taps.