July 16, 2008	Wednesday	Rajab 12, 1429

KARACHI, July 15: With the prices of all commodities reaching an all-time high, operators of water tankers in the city have doubled the charges for 1,000 gallons water, citing that the filling charges have been raised and octroi charges have been placed on tankers passing through the area under the jurisdiction of Malir Cantonment Board.

Before the transfer of KWSB hydrants to town municipal administrations, a water tanker of 1,000 gallons was available for Rs350. However, at present it was being sold between Rs700 and Rs800, which was causing additional financial burden on the residents of water-starved localities and other water-deficient pockets of different areas.

Confirming that the rates of private tankers have recently jumped, General Secretary of the Karachi Water Tankers Owners’ Welfare Association Hazoor Bakhsh attributed the hike to what he called ‘uncalled for’ and ‘unjustified’ Rs30 per trip octroi being charged from water tankers at different check posts set up in the Malir Cantonment Board jurisdiction. He said the filling rates being charged from tanker owners by the contractors, appointed by different town municipal administrations, had also been raised.

Although the KWSB fixed Rs55 as the filling charges for a tanker having a capacity of 1,000 gallons, most contractors who had sub-let the contract of supplying water to others were charging Rs110.

Citing other reasons for the unprecedented increase in the rates of private water tankers, he said that these include high diesel prices and an increase in distance between the hydrants from where water tankers were drawing water for supply in all those localities which were earlier being fed from the Muslimabad hydrant. The Muslimabad hydrant had been closed a couple of months back in the wake of an order of the Sindh High Court. But the authorities concerned have yet to set up any hydrants near the water-starved localities which were earlier being supplied water from Muslimabad hydrant, he added.

Terming the act of charging octroi from the water tankers passing through the areas of Malir Cantonment Board ‘arbitrary’, tanker association’s president Iftikhar Abbasi and general secretary Huzoor Bakhsh claimed that they had raised the issue with the authorities concerned since there was no provision to levy such a tax in the Sindh Local Government Ordinance.

Admitting that the burden of the octroi and the enhanced filling rates being charged from tanker owners by contractors of towns’ hydrants was being passed on to buyers, an office-bearer of the association said the fact of the matter was that enhanced water rates were being charged mostly from those water-starved localities, which were solely dependant on the tanker service and were being supplied water from hydrants set up at Safoora Goth, near Sachal police station, Sa’adi Town, Malir Cantonment and Surjani Town.

He elaborated that around 600 tankers were fetching water from these hydrants, while a tanker making seven trips is paying Rs200 as octroi charges daily while passing through the Malir Cantonment Board area.