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KARACHI, July 1: A large number of private hydrants operating illegally in various parts of the city are selling subsoil unhygienic water to the residents of water-deficient pockets while over three dozen hydrants using unauthorised connections from the KWSB water trunk mains are providing piped water to their clients.
The act of acquiring connections from water trunk mains on the part of the owners of these illegal hydrants not only amounted to water theft and damage to the major pipelines but was also posing a threat to the citizens’ health as the possibilities of contamination could not be ruled out owing to the sewage seeping into the trunk mains through their punctured portions from where the hydrants had acquired connections, well-placed sources in the water utility told Dawn.
Referring to a survey undertaken by the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB), sources said that there were more than 80 illegal hydrants, which were selling subsoil unhygienic water to the residents of various water-starved localities mainly because they were situated near the embankments of both the Lyari and Malir rivers while around 40 hydrants hooked to trunk mains were operating at Manghopir, Landhi, Korangi and Sohrab Goth.
Most of the private hydrants doing boring water business are located at Pak Colony, Malir, Korangi, Orangi, Shershah and Baldia.
Admitting that owners of private tankers have managed to get unauthorised connections from different trunk mains allegedly in connivance with the relevant officials of the KWSB and the area police, sources said that these illegal hydrants were causing losses to the KWSB by damaging its trunk mains and stealing its water and on the other hand posing a risk to the health of those people whose localities were being supplied with water from these trunk mains.
They further said that the hydrants’ act of stealing water from the trunk mains also affected the normal pressure in the pipelines. “Despite the fact that the city’s water distribution system which is, on an average, 40 to 45-years-old and in an advanced stage of disrepair, is only pressurized for a few hours a day and the continuous pressurization and depressurization already often results in increased wear and tear on the pipes,” they said.
They said that thousands of tankers drawing water from all these illegal hydrants were also causing extensive damage to the roads and on the other hand often found indulging in rash and negligent driving, resulting in fatal accidents.
Action planned
When asked about the measures taken by the water utility against these illegal hydrants, the sources said that since their previous attempts to close down all these illegal hydrants had not yielded results as they reappeared after some time, the authorities had now decided to select some sites for setting up its own police stations so that an effective action could be taken against them.
In this regard, they disclosed that the KWSB authorities would soon request the Sindh minister for local government to help the KWSB in getting permission from the provincial home department for the establishment of its owns police stations or police kiosks at all those places where illegal hydrants were operating.
