Water Mafia

When you turn on the faucet here in the United States, what comes out? Yes, WATER! Due to our developed infrastructure, most people in this country never think twice about it. However, in the middle east, it's an entirely different ball game.

In article from NPR by Diaa Hadid, describes how the slum neighborhood of Korangi, in Karachi, Pakistan, has no running water. When residents need water, they call on a gentleman named Mohammad Zubair. Many residents believe he belongs to a water tanker mafia. It is more pricey for clean water to be delivered, whereas polluted water is cheaper. Because some can only afford the cheaper water, it sickens people frequently with diarrhea, which is the leading cause of child mortality in Pakistan.

However, this dire situation hasn't been happening forever. Karachi used to have water flowing through its pipes, until the mafias started to siphon water out of the government pipes to private lands where it is stored, and then sold off. This business is so lucrative because the water supply is not enough to cover the entire city. Ideally, Karachi needs 1,200 million gallons of water to make ends meet. Currently, they receive 450 million gallons daily from the Indus River and a nearby dam.
 

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/09/10/645525392/for-karachis-water-mafia-stolen-h20-is-a-lucrative-business

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