Pending arrests: 67 water theft cases registered but no action taken

KWSB chief meets District West SSP to discuss implementation of new ordinance

KARACHI: So far, 67 cases of water theft have been registered under the new ordinance on water theft but no action has been taken against those involved, claimed Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) managing director Misbahuddin Farid.

He was meeting District West SSP Pir Muhammad Shah on Tuesday to discuss the implementation of the new ordinance. Shah had instructions from the Sindh IG and the Sindh chief minister to meet Farid, who had met the provincial chiefs earlier and informed them of the problems faced by the KWSB in supplying water to the residents of Karachi, especially in District West.

“Despite a number of FIRs of water theft registered against people, no arrests have been made recently,” said Farid. He added that an ordinance has also been issued for all those engaged in water theft. According to the ordinance, those engaged in water theft can be fined up to Rs1 million, jailed for 10 years or their properties could be confiscated.



Farid pointed out that the water board has also taken action against underground water hydrants on the orders of the Supreme Court. He claimed that 50% of these hydrants are engaged in water theft and are supplying water through tankers. The worst affected areas are in District West, such as Baldia, Shershah, Pak Colony, Gulbai, Ayub Goth, Mauripur and Keamari, along with Ahsanabad and Gulshan-e-Maymar.

The water board officials take action against the hydrant operators but they re-emerge shortly afterwards, said Farid. A full-fledged operation must be conducted against illegal water hydrants and all those engaged in water theft must be taken to trial, he suggested.

For his part, SSP Shah assured him that the police force will be available for any upcoming operation against illegal hydrants and those engaged in water theft. The two officials also discussed strategy and planning to prevent these operators from re-emerging.

It was also decided in the meeting that raids will soon be conducted under the supervision of SSP West.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 16^th, 2016.