HYDERABAD: The All Sindh RO (Reverse Osmosis) Plants Association on Saturday demanded immediate end to the “crackdown” on its members by the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) and appealed to Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and head of the SC-appointed judicial commission retired Justice Amir Hani Muslim to take notice of the “harassment”.

Speaking at a news conference at the local press club on Saturday, chairman of the association Syed Afzal Ali and other office-bearers claimed that the crackdown had been continuing since April 12. “The raiding Wasa teams are causing damage to the plants; they break the main water supply line to dismantle it; they also take away the machinery and take such actions without any notice,” they alleged.

Syed Ali said that a representative delegation of the association had held a meeting with Wasa managing director but he did not entertain their complaints and kept insisting on immediate closure of the business in the city.

He said 80 per cent of the over two million population of Hyderabad benefited from around 200 RO plants functioning in the city as the Wasa-supplied drinking water was deemed by people not fit for human consumption.

He told reporters that around 40 of these plants were registered with the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA), adding that others were willing to get themselves registered. He said around 5,000 people were associated with the business in the city.

He said that under the crackdown launched on the pretext of certain directives of the judicial commission, nearly 50pc of the plants had been closed down so far and their owners and operators were being harassed.

Wasa MD Masood Jumani, when contacted to seek his comment, said that he did not oblige the association’s delegation because they did not have or could not produce the authorisation for their business.

“They were reluctant to produce the PSQA registration document, logo and the relevant Wasa bills,” he said.

He said that almost all RO plants were functioning in houses or other unauthorised business places and using domestic water connections.

He said the judicial commission had ordered Wasa to ensure safe drinking water to consumers and, as such, action against unauthorised suppliers was necessary.

RO plant operators would have to run their businesses after seeking proper permission from the relevant authorities and getting the quality of the products checked.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2018