SHC directs KW&SB to submit plan for water supply from hydrants

If water can be provided through tankers it can also be supplied through lines, says SHC

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday, while hearing a petition regarding the shortage of drinking water in Mujahid Colony on Dalmia Road, directed the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KW&SB) officials to submit a plan for the supply of water from hydrants.

A two-member bench headed by Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi heard the petition earlier today.

The petitioner’s counsel informed the court that the residents of the colony were deprived of water as well as electricity.

The court asked the KW&SB officials what process can be used to make water supply from tankers a transparent operation.

Read: SHC questions tanker operations in Karachi amidst water shortage

“What has been done so far to prevent corruption and theft? What are your standard operating procedures?” the court inquired.

The SHC further asked for accurate data of the number of tankers filled up per hydrant and whether the board maintained any records of the number of tankers supplying water to various parts of the city.

In his remarks, Justice Rizvi stated that “if water can be provided through tankers then it can also be supplied through lines.”

Subsequently, the court directed the Water Board officials to present a plan for the provision of water from hydrants during the next hearing.

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Last month, the SHC heard a petition regarding the failure to supply drinking water in Karachi’s Clifton, Block 2.

The two-member bench headed by Justice Rizvi questioned the KWSB's deputy director regarding the shortage of water within the city.

The high court judge accused the water board of colluding with the ‘tanker mafia’, stating that the owner of a single tanker purchases a fleet within six months, remarking that water was being supplied to owners of tankers instead of directly to consumers.