KARACHI: The severe water crisis in Hub has brought the region’s critical industrial hub to the brink of collapse, threatening 300 industries, thousands of jobs, and PKR 7 billion in annual state revenue. Despite the Hub Dam being nearly full following recent monsoon rains, local businesses, farmers, and a population exceeding 1 million are severely impacted due to a rigid, outdated water-sharing formula dating back to the 1980s. Chamber leadership, including former President Ismail Sattar and President Yaqoob Karim, have issued an urgent SOS appeal to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, demanding immediate government intervention to revise the archaic WAPDA allocation formula—which currently grants Hub 36.7% and Karachi 62.3% despite a massive demographic shift over the last 40 years—and to prevent widespread unemployment, agricultural ruin, and economic fallout.
The industrial and economic threat is severe, as 300 industrial units face imminent closure, risking thousands of jobs and jeopardizing over PKR 7 billion in annual national revenue and taxes. Concurrently, a humanitarian and agricultural crisis unfolds as over 1 million residents are deprived of clean drinking water, and 25,000 acres of agricultural land face drought-like conditions despite a full Hub Dam. This situation persists because WAPDA continues to rely on a 1980s quota, allocating 36.7% to Hub and 62.3% to Karachi, established when Hub’s population was only 20,000, completely ignoring its current population of 1 million, 300 factories, and expanded agricultural footprint. In response, business leaders have issued an urgent SOS appeal to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to personally intervene, revise the water distribution framework, and ensure immediate water supply to Hub.
