10 illegally installed tube wells sealed in Islamabad

Action taken following IHC orders after decline in groundwater level

ISLAMABAD:

Acting against the alleged water mafia in Islamabad, the district administration on Sunday sealed 10 tube wells, installed illegally in the precincts of Noon and Tarnol police stations.

Saddar Zone Magistrate Mir Yamin took action against the illegal installations, following the Islamabad High Court (IHC) orders to seal the tubewells after a massive decline in ground water level in the area.

Yamin said the owners would draw up water from these illegally-installed tube wells - storing it in tankers and selling it off to the residents of twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. A district administration team took notice of this, raided the sites and sealed the tubewells, he added.

Responding to a query, he said the administration also planned on filing a police complaint against the tubewell operators, after which FIRs would also be filed.

Meanwhile, the residents have urged the civic authorities to take action against the private 'tanker mafia' as they charge Rs1,800 to Rs3,000 for a tanker. According to the residents' complaints from Chatha Bakhtawar, Chak Shehzad, Tarnol and other rural areas, there were no water lines and residents were left at the mercy of private tanker services.

The residents, who have no other option but to purchase private water tankers to meet their household needs, demanded the management to control the price of water tankers as soon as possible.

A resident from Chatha Bakhtawar said the government should check on these private water tankers who were taking the water crisis for granted and making money from innocent citizens. "We cannot afford water from the private tanker mafia because it is too costly," said Ramzan, another resident of Tarlai.

Ahmed Khan, a resident of Chak Shehzad, said the underground water level was decreasing due to heavy pumping at various locations. “This is the first winter season we are facing acute shortage of water due to the massive water drawing by the tanker mafia, but the authorities concerned have done nothing for us, he regretted.

A housewife from the area also demanded the authorities concerned to take serious action against the water mafia to provide relief to the masses.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 7^th, 2022.