While Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) employees complain that they have not been paid in four months, the Town Municipal Administration, City, has locked horns over a land dispute with Central Prison, Hyderabad.
On Saturday, the two departments’ workers gathered outside the press club, separately, but at the same time, to protest. The TMA officers and staff, who arrived in 10 to 12 fire brigade and waste-lifting vehicles, turned back without staging a protest.
Wasa employees threaten to cut water supply
The labour union of Hyderabad Development Authority (HDA) walked about two kilometres to the club, blocked the road for two hours, voiced their anger at corrupt department officials and threatened to deprive the entire district of water from November 2.
“They are cavalier about our problems,” grumbled Aijaz Hussain, president of the employees union as he addressed the workers who have been waiting for salaries for four months. We are tired of holding protests - it’s time for real action.”
The union’s general secretary Behram Chang warned that there will be implications if their protests are not heeded. “We have seen the government come to its knees when the railways, gas, PIA and other organisations’ workers protested,” he said. “People can live without gas, aeroplanes and trains but not without water.”
Wasa is facing financial constraints as the agency’s estimated expenditures of around Rs35 million outnumber its generated revenue which stands at around Rs10 million. The agency has a workforce of over 3,000 workers of which 1,600 are permanent employees.
Ghulam Muhammad Qaimkhani, director general of Wasa’s parent organisation, HDA, wants the agency to adopt a host of measures to make service more efficient and win consumer confidence.
A package for the payment of five per cent of arrears with current bills, a 24-hour emergency service and acknowledgment of utility bill receipts from consumers are some of these steps.
However, the labour union contends that such proposals do not answer their problems. “They can be adopted as a long-term strategy but the workers want their salaries immediately,” said Chang. “They already spent Eidul Fitr in austerity and now Eidul Azha is round the corner.”
The union has found the perfect time to strike, while they promise to supply water during the Eid holidays, they plan to let residents stew in the post-sacrificial messes if they are not paid before then.
TMA tries to reclaim land
On Saturday, the TMA City tried to reclaim 9.3 acres of disputed land from the central prison. This is where the city’s largest animal market for Eidul Azha is set up every year.
Meanwhile, the TMA workers’ union general secretary, Akram Rajput, told The Express Tribune that the staff is likely to give-up work from November 1 as they are not paid.
Armed with a Sindh High Court (SHC) order and led by administrator Dr Asif Razvi, the administration tried to prove that the court had not authorised the prison to occupy the land.
The prison police, however, claimed to have their own court order and, assisted by the Baldia Town police, stalled the TMA’s attempt. They were referred to the Hyderabad police legal DSP.
“The police will only take action in the light of DSP Legal’s interpretation as both the parties (in the dispute) have court orders,” said DSP Sikander Bhatti who led the police.
Administrator Dr Razvi told the media that the situation was a violation of court orders and threatened to return to court today with footage to prove this violation. He said they had contracted out the land for the first 10 days of Zil Hajj for Rs10 million. “The earnings from the contract are about one sixth of the total revenue generated by the TMA,” he said.
In the age-old dispute, the TMA claims that it bought the land in 1985 for Rs1.7 million while the prison claims they own it as the jail was built in 1885.
Later, TMA officials met with DCO Ahmed Baksh Narejo and Provincial Minister Zahid Bhurgari, MNA Salahuddin and MPA Suhail Yousuf but failed to obtain any tangible support. Razvi said they will file a contempt of court petition against the prison officials and DSP Sikandar Bhatti with the SHC today.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2011.
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Oh man. These are not the guys you want to be on the bad side of in this way. What's worse is they know it and while may deserve something more, their attitude has a little bit of greed and superiority attached as opposed to others. Like they've been annoyed for a long time but they don't act like they just found a way to fix the problem, but realized a pattern and a way to exploit it.