KARACHI: Fed up of its financial woes, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) does not want to spare anyone now. In its latest announcement, the water municipality has called on thousands of mosques and Imambargahs across the city to clear their outstanding water bills.
“Most of the mosques and Imambargahs do not pay their bills, adding to the financial woes of the KWSB,” the board’s managing director, Misbahuddin Farid, said in a statement issued on Sunday.
The KWSB runs a deficit between Rs600 million and Rs700 million every month as it struggles to make consumers pay their bills or convince the government to raise the water tariff. Financial constraints have restricted its ability to finance key projects, including the Rs29 billion K-IV scheme, which envisages bringing 260 million gallons of water (MGD) per day to the city.
“Almost 95 per cent of an estimated 200,000 mosques and Imambargahs don’t pay us anything,” he said. “A lot of water is consumed at religious institutions, including seminaries. It is fair to ask them to foot the bill.”
Farid requested the prayer leaders at mosques to ask people to avoid unnecessary use of water at the religious institutions. “It is our collective responsibility to make sure that we don’t waste water during ablution (Wuzu),” he said.
Karachi’s total water demand stands at 1,080 MGD while the supply hovers around 640 MGD. For various water and sewerage schemes, the KWSB is dependent on the provincial and federal governments for funding, which is almost always delayed.
The KWSB has asked the in-charges of mosques and Imambargahs to register their institutions by contacting the utility’s deputy managing director recovery at 021-99245142.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 28th, 2013.
COMMENTS (7)
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@rashid: I take it that yours is a rhetorical question implying that if a temple pays its dues so should a mosque ? In which case your question is remarkably la deeni (secular).
@Eddie: So now we can steal from Muslims or can rob non-Muslims? So much for historic stories for Muslim justice that was equal for all.
John B- Also sharia demands amputation for theft...
@John B: That all depends if the people you're stealing from are muslims or not.
If the city government incur expenses for bringing the water line to a Muslim or non Muslim gathering place it's holy to pay for the labour before the sweat dries of the labourer. Not taking a due share toward the salaries of labours is totally unIslamic.
Are the worship places of other religions,,churches, temples, billed by the KWSB and do they pay their dues? Is is proper to support an institution which deliberately defaults its dues?