KOHAT: The locals on Wednesday complained to a PTI lawmaker that the Water Supply and Sanitation Company (WSSC) was not abiding by the schedule to release water, which had led to shortage of the commodity in the city areas.

The people had invited MPA Ziaullah Bangash to visit parts of the city and the main bazaar to witness the misery of the people due to the faulty water distribution system. They informed him that while the WSSC was providing new connections the tehsil municipal administration snapped old ones to recover millions of rupees outstanding against consumers.

The people complained the WSSC was not supplying water twice a day as per the rules and sometime the water supply remained absent for the whole day. The lawmaker was asked to install a 24-hour running connection in every mohallah, or bind the company to release water according to their needs.

Mr Bangash promised he would talk to the quarters concerned for 24-hour water supply to the city areas. Some people also proposed WSSC consider installing water metres so consumers were charged accordingly.

It is to mention here that water shortage emerged after the water supply and sanitation departments, earlier run by the TMA, were delegated to the WSSC in April 2017.

The WSSC had announced that anyone could get a water connection for one year paying just Rs2,660 in the bank in its name, and as a result, hundreds of new connections were given, but the TMA inspection teams disconnected them on account of non-payment of dues.

It may be mentioned here that the TMA contractor for water supply did not collect six monthly bills as there was no pressure or strict rule for him to pay installments of the contract. He just collected money from hardly 100 households and spared others on the intervention of mohallah elders, local bodies’ members or lawmakers.

A WSSC official said the water supply contract was given to contractor for Rs10 million, but he used to recover his pocket money and paid some to officials without giving any benefit to TMA. The security money was also paid back to the contractor with collusion, he added.

Tehsil municipal officer Mohammad Shoeb said over Rs2.9 million were outstanding against water consumers.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2017