Denied 'due' share: Authorities hand in glove with tanker mafia
DHA residents protest outside CBC office, demand end to ‘manipulative’ system
DHA residents demanded CBC to ensure supply of water through the waterlines instead of forcing them to buy water from tankers. PHOTOS: AYESHA MIR/EXPRESS
KARACHI:
The chronic water shortage in Defence Housing Authority (DHA) - a result of alleged connivance between the 'tanker mafia' and relevant government officials - forced some concerned residents to protest outside the Clifton Cantonment Board (CBC) office on Tuesday morning.
Fliers calling out residents to join the demonstration were being delivered to houses or reached residents through newspapers since Sunday.
The organiser of the protest, former ex-vice president of CBC, Najeeb Wali, remarked that despite an abundant supply of water, DHA residents are forced to buy water from official and private tankers.
Commenting on the fact that no official from the CBC approached the demonstrators to listen to their grievances and in fact closed the main office doors, Wali said, "The CBC should know that we are peaceful today but they should not test our nerves as next time things may be different."
He also demanded the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) to provide a dedicated line for residents of DHA since "we are among the highest tax payers."
Muhammad Sohail, a DHA resident for the last 23 years, said they are protesting against the low supply of water. He claimed that nine million gallons of water is approved for DHA but "we are getting only three million gallons." He claimed that the authorities save that water only to later sell it to residents via 'official' tankers.
He also blamed the local MNA, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) Dr Arif Alvi, for being "unable to resolve his voters' main issue."
"I am sorry but PTI is being rejected in DHA," he claimed. Dr Shakeel Rizvi was also among the scores of protesters who chanted slogans against the CBC. He was of the view that water scarcity in the area has never been this bad since he has been living in DHA - for nearly three decades.
He remarked that five to six years ago the underground water tanks in their houses used to overflow with line water, but now they only get line water once a week and that too for just a few hours.
"Since water supply has diminished we have to get water tankers from private contractors. The CBC also sells water from tankers, charging us thousands of rupees for it," he shared.
Displaying a computer-generated receipt for availing water tanker services from DHA, he termed it proof of "institutional corruption".
Rizvi said that CBC is operating like an 'organised mafia'.
Mrs Mohsin, another resident, said CBC has not only failed in supplying water to residents but is also failing to resolve sanitation issues of the locality.
CBC accepts
Talking to The Express Tribune, the elected vice-president of CBC, Aziz Suharwardy, claimed that a majority of the residents who participated in the protest either lost the previous cantonment board elections or were residents of katchiabadis who never pay taxes.
However, he acknowledged the shortage of water supply in DHA. He explained that instead of receiving water supply against the demand of 14 million gallons per day (MGD), they receive only 6.1MGD from the KWSB.
KWSB's technical services deputy managing director Fahim Zaidi remarked that the water board and DHA have an agreement, inked in 1999, wherein nine MGD is provided to DHA, but since the housing society is at the tail end of the supply chain, and due to water scarcity in the metropolis, the KWSB has been unable to supply the agreed amount.
According to the CBC vice-president, in such a situation, it is very hard to provide adequate water to DHA residents. He added that if the DHA allots land to CBC for a desalination or reverse-osmosis plant near the coast, they can offset the water shortage within three to four months. When contacted, DHA spokesperson Major (retired) Aurangzeb was unwilling to comment on the issue.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 5th, 2016.
The chronic water shortage in Defence Housing Authority (DHA) - a result of alleged connivance between the 'tanker mafia' and relevant government officials - forced some concerned residents to protest outside the Clifton Cantonment Board (CBC) office on Tuesday morning.
Fliers calling out residents to join the demonstration were being delivered to houses or reached residents through newspapers since Sunday.
The organiser of the protest, former ex-vice president of CBC, Najeeb Wali, remarked that despite an abundant supply of water, DHA residents are forced to buy water from official and private tankers.
Commenting on the fact that no official from the CBC approached the demonstrators to listen to their grievances and in fact closed the main office doors, Wali said, "The CBC should know that we are peaceful today but they should not test our nerves as next time things may be different."
He also demanded the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) to provide a dedicated line for residents of DHA since "we are among the highest tax payers."
Muhammad Sohail, a DHA resident for the last 23 years, said they are protesting against the low supply of water. He claimed that nine million gallons of water is approved for DHA but "we are getting only three million gallons." He claimed that the authorities save that water only to later sell it to residents via 'official' tankers.
He also blamed the local MNA, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) Dr Arif Alvi, for being "unable to resolve his voters' main issue."
"I am sorry but PTI is being rejected in DHA," he claimed. Dr Shakeel Rizvi was also among the scores of protesters who chanted slogans against the CBC. He was of the view that water scarcity in the area has never been this bad since he has been living in DHA - for nearly three decades.
He remarked that five to six years ago the underground water tanks in their houses used to overflow with line water, but now they only get line water once a week and that too for just a few hours.
"Since water supply has diminished we have to get water tankers from private contractors. The CBC also sells water from tankers, charging us thousands of rupees for it," he shared.
Displaying a computer-generated receipt for availing water tanker services from DHA, he termed it proof of "institutional corruption".
Rizvi said that CBC is operating like an 'organised mafia'.
Mrs Mohsin, another resident, said CBC has not only failed in supplying water to residents but is also failing to resolve sanitation issues of the locality.
CBC accepts
Talking to The Express Tribune, the elected vice-president of CBC, Aziz Suharwardy, claimed that a majority of the residents who participated in the protest either lost the previous cantonment board elections or were residents of katchiabadis who never pay taxes.
However, he acknowledged the shortage of water supply in DHA. He explained that instead of receiving water supply against the demand of 14 million gallons per day (MGD), they receive only 6.1MGD from the KWSB.
KWSB's technical services deputy managing director Fahim Zaidi remarked that the water board and DHA have an agreement, inked in 1999, wherein nine MGD is provided to DHA, but since the housing society is at the tail end of the supply chain, and due to water scarcity in the metropolis, the KWSB has been unable to supply the agreed amount.
According to the CBC vice-president, in such a situation, it is very hard to provide adequate water to DHA residents. He added that if the DHA allots land to CBC for a desalination or reverse-osmosis plant near the coast, they can offset the water shortage within three to four months. When contacted, DHA spokesperson Major (retired) Aurangzeb was unwilling to comment on the issue.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 5th, 2016.