KARACHI: The Supreme Court-mandated commission on water and sanitation in Sindh on Monday ordered reopening of a hydrant in Baldia Town on a weekly basis and under the supervision of Pakistan Rangers, Sindh.

The commission, headed by retired Justice Amir Hani Muslim of the apex court, observed that the closed Baldia hydrant needed to be reopened on account of non-availability of water from the original source as water level had already decreased at Hub Dam.

It further said that the managing director of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB), contractor and area people agreed that Rs1,000 instead of Rs1,200 would be charged for a tanker.

They also agreed that the hydrant would operate for 12 hours on every seventh day of the week.

The commission asked the KWSB chief to ensure that the facility would be supervised by the Rangers in order to avoid any law and order situation.

It also directed the deputy commissioner (DC) of West district to approach an appropriate forum for getting assistance from the paramilitary force since previously there were complaints that public at large created law and order situation at the hydrant.

It also directed the contractor not to run the hydrant on commercial basis and exclusively use it for the people of the locality at the rate of Rs1,000 per tanker and warned that any complaint would expose the contactor to prosecution.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2018