KARACHI, July 3: With the closure of the low supply reservoir (LSR) hydrant, situated behind Civic Centre, the flow of traffic on a portion of the main University Road near the Gulshan Town office and all around Hassan Square intersection has considerably improved.
Besides, people residing in the vicinity of the LSR have also heaved a sigh of relief, as their streets, which had already been damaged due to the frequent movement of tankers drawing water from the hydrant, would now be saved from further destruction.
“We have got a big relief in the wake of the LSR hydrant’s closure, as on one hand residents of our locality will get water supply with increased pressure and, on the other we have got rid of the tanker drivers, who often indulged in rash and negligent driving, creating fear of accidents in the locality,” remarked an elderly person of Gulshan-i-Iqbal’s Block 14.
Another resident of the locality hoped that the flow of vehicular traffic would further improve when the termini of up-country bound jumbo-sized buses, presently situated near the Gulshan Town office, were also shifted to its proposed site on the Super Highway.
Over 4,000 tankers, which used to draw water from the LSR hydrant for selling it in water-starved localities on commercial basis, and providing it to water-deficit pockets on gratis basis, have now been adjusted at other hydrants functioning under the control of Rangers.
The KWSB Managing Director, Brig Iftikhar Haider, was also optimistic that now when the LSR hydrant had been closed, the water supply position of a number of localities in four towns – Saddar, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Jamshed and Lyari — would improve considerably. These localities would now get water supply with increased pressure through pipelines, he said.
Though a decision to close a number of hydrants – the LSR, Sakhi Hassan and Federal B Area’s water pump – was taken by the former City Nazim, Niamatullah Khan, while chairing the city government’s advisory committee in February, the Rangers had so far closed only one of the three hydrants.
It may be mentioned that the Rangers are managing the affairs of the KWSB’s hydrants since 1999 after the Hub Dam went dry for the first time have.
During a visit to the intersections of Sakhi Hassan in North Nazimabad and water pump in Federal B Area, one could see that tankers drawing water from these hydrants had not only ruined a number of streets, but also often created hindrances in the smooth flow of vehicular traffic.
Thousands of tankers drawing water from these two hydrants not only created slippery conditions on a number of adjoining roads and streets, but were also often involved in accidents.
Residents of both the said localities argued about the justification of having these hydrants in residential areas when they were of no benefit to them.
“In fact, we often remain perturbed owing to the frequent movement of tankers drawing water from them and damages caused by them to our roads and streets,” a resident of Federal B Area’s Block 13 deplored.
He said how unfair it was that even their children could not play in their own streets because of fear of being hit or crushed by these speeding tankers, which continued to ply there throughout the day.
