Senators ask govt to resolve Gwadar water woes

Senate panel observes annual cost of water supply through tankers is Rs1b

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Reforms on Thursday asked the government to outsource Gwadar city water supply project to any reputed international firm.

The committee meeting, chaired by Senator Col (retd) Syed Tahir Hussain Mashhadi, observed that the annual cost of water supply to city residents through tankers was around Rs1 billion.

Mashhadi said, "The tanker mafia, operating in Gwadar city, was looting people by charging exorbitant rates for its service. We cannot leave people of the city at mercy of the tanker mafia."

A report of the Senate sub-committee was also presented during the meeting.

The committee was also briefed by a senior official of the Ministry of Science and Technology about the serious issue of sea erosion.

He said the government was vigilant and had allocated a reasonable amount to start work on the project, which had various phases like compiling preliminary report and required data.

Senator Kareem Khawaja said, "We need to understand gravity of the issue in the provinces which are facing serious threats of sea intrusion and land erosion."

He said, "I have been pushing the issue for last many years. I requested the ministry to start work on the project as soon as possible because sea erosion had affected the land in two provinces."

The chairman termed the issue 'national' and sought attention of the federal government.

"The Sindh government has started work on the sea erosion which is encouraging," he added. Among others, the meeting was attended by senators Mufti Abdul Sattar, Karim Ahmed Khawaja, Saud Majeed and Agha Shahzaib Khan Durrani, besides senior officials of the ministries of planning and development and science and technology.