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KARACHI, Nov 5: Vehicular traffic on Hub River Road, linking Karachi with Balochistan, remained suspended for about three hours on Tuesday as the residents of water-starved localities of Baldia Township staged a protest demonstration.
Over 200 protesters, belonging to Baldia Town’s union councils 1, 4 & 5, and sectors A-3, D-3 and Gulshan-i-Ghazi, assembled at the junction of the Hub River Road to voice their anger over persisting water shortage in their localities. They also pelted moving vehicles with stones.
During the course of the demonstration, countless commuters in the vehicles — cars, motorcycles, trucks and passenger buses, remained stranded for hours on either side of the Hub River Road junction and faced hardship.
The protesters were carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans: ‘Don’t deprive us of water’, ‘Give us water or quit’, etc. The raised slogans against the KWSB officials and the concerned elected representatives for keeping their localities dry on the eve of Ramazan.
A group of the enraged protesters surrounded the office of the SITE Town Administration’s Nazim, Aurangzeb Khan, and pelted his vehicle with stones when he came out of his office to proceed towards the venue of the demonstration.
The Nazim, however, managed to reach the spot along with the Rangers colonel, Nisar Hashmi and Town Police Officer, Imam Bux.
The demonstrators dispersed on Col. Hashmi’s assurance that water supply to their localities would be ensured on their receiving day, Tuesday, as per their turn.
He also held out the assurance that the pump house located at 19-D bus stop would be filled through water tankers to ensure a smooth supply to the deficient pockets of Baldia Township.
Col. Hashmi told the protesters that the Rangers personnel would keep a strict vigil at the six sensitive valves allegedly manipulated by some unscrupulous elements.
The SITE Town’s Nazim, Aurangzeb Khan, promised to the demonstrators that he would close down his office and go home if the KWSB failed to supply water to their localities.
MEETING: The City government’s advisory committee on Tuesday exhorted the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board officials to ensure a smooth supply of water in every nook and corner of the city during the holy month of Ramazan by taking special measures on war-footings.
The advisory committee, which met at the City government’s complex to discuss the city’s prevailing water situation was attended by Town Nazimeen and the KWSB officials. The City Nazim, Naimatullah Khan, and the MD of KWSB, Brig Sardar Javaid Ashraf, could not attend the meeting owing to their preoccupation.
The Board’s deputy MD (Technical Services), Suleman Chandio and chief engineer, Khalid Malik, explained to the Town Nazimeen the water distribution system and requested them to take a strict action against those indulged in tampering with valves.
Replying to Lyari’s persisting water shortage, the KWSB’s chief engineer, Khalid Malik, told the Nazim of Lyari, Abdul Khaliq Juma, that the Lyari’s recent water problem was caused when the locality’s SBL Water Main had started leaking but the supply to the locality had been normalized following the Main’s repair carried out under a crash programme.
The Nazim of Baldia Town, Aurangzeb Khan, told the meeting that although the KWSB’s senior officials had repeatedly assured him that the town would be supplied 43 million gallons of water after every three/four days and each supply with a duration of 18 hours, most of the sectors of the township were getting the supply hardly for 13 hours and that, too, with a very low pressure.
HYDRANTS: The KWSB staff, escorted by Rangers personnel, on Tuesday disconnected the water supply to two illegal hydrants and snapped illegal connections to five factories.
The hydrants and factories, on Manghopir Road, had been drawing water from the KWSB main pipelines of two-three inch-dia. A spokesman for the KWSB said that the SITE Town’s Nazim and concerned Union Councils’ Nazimeen cooperated with the KWSB staff in their operation.
With the disconnection illegal supplies the water supply position in Manghopir and adjoining areas would definitely improve, the spokesman added.
