Water Cut Off by Donkey, Troops

Water was turned off for a third of Karachi’s 2 million people Wednesday so that a dead donkey could be removed from a conduit, officials said.

Retrieval of the animal had been delayed for three days after engineers sent to clear the conduit were detained and punished by troops for entering a curfew area without passes, officials of the Water and Sewerage Board said.

Meanwhile, the population continued to consume water distributed through the conduit. It was cleared Wednesday after city authorities asked troops to allow the engineers to do their job.