KARACHI, Sept 4: Private hydrants continue to operate in violation of the city government’s directives, thus playing havoc with the health of people of the water-starved localities, besides devastating roads and streets situated in their periphery.

The city government’s advisory committee in its meeting in the third week of June had decided to close all privately-run hydrants following complaints by a number of Town Nazims, who told the city Nazim, Naimatullah Khan, that tankers drawing water from hydrants had not only caused extensive damage to various roads but were also responsible for creating water shortage as they were stealing water from pipelines of the water and sanitation department.

At a time when various main thoroughfares, situated in the vicinity of various private hydrants, have already been ruined owing to frequent movement of tankers, and when other roads of the city have been damaged badly in the wake of recent rains, the concerned citizens apprehend that if the city government fails to take an action against the private hydrants, most of the city roads will present the scene of “ruins of Moenjodaro”.

As neither the private hydrants get their water tested periodically from laboratories, nor they have been issued permits by the city government’s health department, doctors attribute the increasing number of diarrhoea and other abdominal diseases to the sub-soil unhygienic water being sold in the water-starved localities by the private tankers.

“It is beyond one’s comprehension that private hydrants which have sprung up in a large number in localities are doing a roaring business at the cost of citizens’ health without obtaining any permission from the city government’s health department and the officials responsible for regulating the hydrants’ operation are playing the role of a silent spectator,” remarked a senior doctor of Civil Hospital’s emergency department, Dr Nadim-ur-Rehman Siddiqui.

Admitting that diarrhoea and other stomach diseases are on the rise in the city, he said that most of the victims of the unhygienic water are either elderly people or children.

It is amazing to note that though it is mandatory upon owners of private hydrants to get NOC from the city government’s health department and also get their water periodically tested from laboratories, private hydrants are openly flouting the rules and yet they go unpunished.

Besides, all those private hydrants which did not get their water tested from laboratories are required to inform the general public by posting a notice at some prominent place that the water they are selling is only meant for industrial purpose but a large number of tankers drawing water from these hydrants are selling water for drinking purpose, causing serious health hazard in the water-starved localities.

Meanwhile, a resident of Yasinabad told Dawn on Tuesday that the bridge that bifurcates Federal B’ Area with Gulshan-i- Iqbal has been ruined mainly owing to plying of tankers which draw water from a private hydrant situated near the bridge.

He suspected that the hydrant might be selling filthy water to the residents of water-starved localities as it was so close to the Lyari River that one cannot rule out the possibility of the river water seeping into the hydrant’s.

“The owner of the same hydrant had earlier put up a notice board, informing general public that the water being sold there was only meant for construction purpose but it has now been removed,” he added.

People residing near another private hydrant, situated at Darakhshan Society, Malir Halt, said that the hydrant had become a source of accidents as drivers of most of the tankers, fetching water from it, often drive their vehicles in a wrong direction while approaching towards main Sharea Faisal.

Sources in the city government said that as a matter of fact private hydrants were mainly thriving in the city owing to slackness on the part of the city government’s health department officials as they have, so far, failed to complete the survey which was required to be undertaken by them in cooperation with town nazims although such a survey was to be completed by the end of June.

They deplored that although over 115 private hydrants are, at present, operating in different localities, the city government’s health department officials, have not yet succeeded in forcing the owners of private hydrants to obtain the required NOC after getting their water, periodically, tested from laboratories.