KARACHI: Hydrants causing damage to roads: Shifting demanded
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, July 20: Two hydrants, one near the water pump intersection in Federal B Area and the other near the Sakhi Hassan roundabout in North Nazimabad, are causing hindrance in the smooth flow of traffic on the adjacent busy roads and extensive damage to the main arteries, besides service lanes. The hydrants belong to the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) but they are functioning under the control of the Rangers since 1999, when the Hub dam source had first gone dry.
As a routine, a large number of tankers queue up outside the hydrants to draw water blocking the adjacent roads which results in traffic jams. Their leaking nozzles spread water all around the hydrants causing slippery conditions and damage to roads.
People residing in the vicinity of the two hydrants complained that a number of accidents involving the tankers had already occurred in the recent past mainly because of the rash and negligent driving by tanker drivers.
Recalling that the Sindh Governor, Dr Ishratul Ibad, and the former city nazim, Niamatullah Khan, had repeatedly ordered closure of these hydrants, they deplored that it was beyond one’s comprehension that why the orders had remain unheeded till date.
An elderly resident of the F B Area’s Block 12, where a hydrant is located, remarked: ”I am unable to understand the logic behind housing hydrants in residential areas, especially when they are not meant for supplying water to the locality where they exist. People of my locality, especially women, children and elderly ones, usually avoid walking through the streets due to fear of being hit by the dangerously driven tankers.”
Another resident of the same area was of the view that water supply position in his locality would improve considerably once the hydrant was shifted to some other place. In this context, he argued that according to the KWSB, both the hydrants were drawing water from the pipelines meant for the local consumers. “In fact, the hydrant operators are selling away the water released to our locality,” he explained.
In support of his contention, he cited the example of the Civic Centre’s LSR (Low Supply Reservoir) hydrant, closed recently. After its closure, a number of localities, especially those of the old city area, started getting adequate water with more pressure, he added.
Expressing similar views, people residing in the vicinity of Sakhi Hassan hydrant, urged the governor to direct the KWSB and Rangers to shift the hydrant to some other place in order to save the roads and streets in their localities from getting damaged due to the frequent movement of tankers. They maintained that the in the absence of the hydrant, flow of water in supply lines would definitely improve.
