Unpaid contractors halt waterworks repairs

Failure to fix leakages and supply lines leaves system in disarray

KARACHI:

Karachi's water supply and drainage system is in a state of disarray. Repair works on supply lines have come to a halt due to the failure to clear the dues of contractors.

A lot of public complaints have piled up in the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KW&SB). Fearing a backlash, EXEN and other officers have stopped going to offices. Demonstrations and sit-ins of contractors are being held against the new finance DMD who was posted by the Sindh government.

Slogans of "Sack Makhdoom Shakeeluz Zaman" are being raised in the demonstrations and the situation is becoming more serious by the day. Contractors have refused to do further work as they are still owed millions of rupees. As a result, the repair work of water supply and drainage lines in the city has come to a grinding halt for the last 15 days.

Sources said that repairs were being carried out in dozens of places on a daily basis to fix leakages in supply and drainage lines as well as other complaints including sewerage overflow. However, the process has been stalled for the last 15 days, which has led to a flurry of public complaints at the water board.

Sources inside KW&SB said that the said DMD finance has stopped making payments to contractors after assuming office. As a result, the entire water board system is in disarray.

Sources said that the protest of contractors has been ongoing for the last 15 days. However, the water board MD is reportedly helpless in the face of the influential DMD finance.

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Water board officials say that due to the failure repair of water supply and drainage lines in the city, citizens may face the worst situation in the last days of Ramazan.

Contractors have refused to do any further work before payment, prompting KW&SB officials to stop visiting their offices to avoid the public backlash. They added said that there are a lot of public complaints in the water board and no action is being taken on them.

Hundreds of contractors also protested at the Water Board MD Secretariat on Tuesday, saying DMD Finance Makhdoom Shakeeluz Zaman is not paying the contractors, due to which they have been deprived of their livelihood during the month of Ramazan.

The contractors staged a huge protest at the water board office and chanted slogans such as "dismiss Makhdoom Shakeeluz Zaman and stop the deployment of blue-eyed officers". The contractors also demanded the immediate notice of the higher authorities and investigative agencies on the current situation.

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