KARACHI - The water shortage in the city is growing alarmingly in various parts of the city and citizens are receiving insufficient or no supply at all, hence, giving a boost to the sale of water tankers. The sale of polluted and unhygienic water is resulting as spread of fatal diseases including gastro, which is causing panic not only in the populace of city but World Health Organization has also expressed its concern over the gravity of the situation. Sources in the city government's water and sanitation department attributed the water scarcity problem to grooving influx of population and depleting water resources and said that the government is looking for various options to cope with situation including local and foreign investment in this sector. Residents of the affected areas complained that in the absence of piped water they had no choice but to buy private tankers at exorbitant rates or consume sub-soil unhygienic water at the cost of their health. They complained that their request for water through tankers, belonging to W & S department's hydrants often remains unheeded for days together, private tankers indulge in money-minting by charging higher than the normal rates. As our locality is deprived of water since long, we have been spending at least Rs 600 per water tanker for purchasing water, which is too contaminated and unhygienic, said a perturbed resident of while commenting on the water crisis. Its worth to mention here that several organisations related to checking the quality of water has confirmed that the water being supplied to the residents of Karachi through tankers is highly contaminated and authorities must work on to find alternate solutions to save the health of citizen. The citizens and exports have also urged the federal, provincial and city government to adopt international practices to solve the problem especially the options of seawater treatment. A board of exports could be established in this regard that can engage the local and foreign investors in this sector and finalise workable proposals to provide the citizens of Karachi clean water through international standard desalination plants, they concluded.