One pipe at a time: Water board, Rangers crackdown against mafia

They are also planning an operation against illegal mineral water companies.

KARACHI: Law enforcers spent a busy Monday morning conducting an operation to remove the water mafia from different parts of the city. They claimed this would help them crack down militant networks.

The operation was conducted in Baldia 11-1/2, Khairabad, Northern Bypass, Landhi and Korangi. Tools and other items used for stealing water, according to the Rangers spokesperson, were confiscated.

He claimed that militant organisations used to be involved in the illegal water hydrant business and this is how they made money to fund their activities. He said that they had complete information about where and how the money made from these illegal hydrants and water connections was being used.

The operation in-charge at the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, Asif Qadri, told The Express Tribune that several underground tunnels were blocked and motor pumps were confiscated during the operation. "At the Northern Bypass and Baldia Town, we faced some resistance from the water mafia," he said. "We had taken effective measures and they made a run for it. Most of their equipment was left behind." He added that during previous operations in the same area and Manghopir, Saeedabad, Landhi and Malir, the water board had disconnected 138 illegal water connections.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 27^th, 2015.