KARACHI, May 24: The current tussle between Rangers and Karachi Water and Sewerage Board over the issue of making alternative arrangement for water supply through the hydrants being handed over to KWSB by Rangers on May 25 has created water crisis in various parts of the city.

Residents of water-starved localities who totally depend on tanker service from Muslimabad and low-supply reservoir hydrants apprehend that water riots might erupt after May 25 when tanker service from both the hydrants would come to a halt.

The Rangers through a public notice have asked citizens to contact KWSB for acquiring water from Muslimabad and low-supply reservoir hydrants while the KWSB insists that the responsibility of water supply through hydrants is not being transferred so that the water supply could be improved through pipelines.

On Tuesday, a meeting held under the chairmanship of City Nazim Niamatullah Khan decided to close the LSR hydrant for improving water supply position through pipelines.

The nazim urged the engineers present on the occasion to take effective measures within a week for improving the city’s overall water supply position.

The board’s officials at the meeting were asked to set up centres in all towns where sufficient staff should remain present so that public complaints are attended on priority.

The meeting decided that the tankers drawing water from the LSR hydrant would be adjusted to the remaining hydrants being run under the control of Rangers and it would be the responsibility of Rangers to ensure uninterrupted supply of water through tankers in all those localities which depend on tanker service.

Around 5,000 tankers draw water from these hydrants daily and of them about 3,500 are sold on commercial basis in water-starved localities and remaining 1500 are supplied on gratis basis in the water-deficient pockets of the city.

However, the Rangers have not made any arrangement so far to adjust these tankers to other seven hydrants, which they are not handing over to the KWSB at the moment despite the fact that the LSR hydrant has been closed on Tuesday while the Muslimabad hydrant is likely to be closed shortly after taking over on Wednesday.

One wonders that what would happen to those localities once these two hydrants are closed from where such a huge number of tankers draw water for the water-starved localities on commercial or gratis basis.

It is surprising to note that although contractors of private tankers pay only Rs44 and Rs73 for filling 1,000 gallon water for residential and commercial areas respectively, they charge an exorbitant amount ranging from Rs260 to Rs400 from the residents of water-starved localities as well as from commercial concerns.

Taking an undue advantage of the prevailing situation, the contractors of private tankers who are drawing water from both the LSR and Muslimabad hydrants have increased tankers’ rates, charging between Rs500 and Rs1000 per 1,000 gallon water. How serious water crisis is going to take place in the city after the closure of these hydrants could be gauged from the Ranger’s own claim that Muslimabad and LSR hydrants were meeting the water requirements of various localities of Saddar, Lyari, Keamari, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Baldia, SITE and Jamshed towns.

According to Rangers’ public notice that appeared in a section of the press a couple of days back, the localities which were being supplied water from these two hydrants included Clifton, Defence, Akhtar Colony, Keamari, Sikandarabad, Chanesor Goth, Punjab Colony, Azam Basti, Kalapul, Saddar, Hijrat Colony, Sultanabad, Mohammadi Colony, Parsi Gate, Gizri, Shireen Jinnah Colony, Machchar Colony, Mauripur, Neelam Colony, Baldia Town, Kharadar, Mithadar, Hawkesbay, SITE, Lyari, Baldia, PIB Colony, Khudadad Colony, Lines Area, Soldier Bazaar, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Mehmoodabad, Manzoor Colony and different parts of Gulistan-i-Jauhar.

The residents of the above mentioned localities have been informed by the Rangers through the public notice that both the LSR and Muslimabad hydrants would be handed over to the KWSB on May 25 and as such they should contact KWSB either for getting water tankers or for any other issues concerning these two hydrants.

Even a letter which the KWSB chief engineer (Bulk and Transmission) had written to Sindh Rangers’ headquarters on May 13 is silent over the issue of tankers which used to sell water from these hydrants on commercial basis. Through this letter, the KWSB had only requested Rangers to immediately adjust gratis water tankers service being fed by LSR and Muslimabad hydrants to the remaining hydrants being run by them (Rangers).

Water distribution operation from the KWSB’s nine hydrants was handed over to Rangers in 1999 when Hub dam had gone dry and as a result of which a serious water crisis was created in the localities hooked to the Hub source. These localities included sprawling townships of Orangi, Baldia, North Karachi and SITE (both residential and industrial areas).

It is, however, astonishing to note that at the time when tankers operation of the KWSB hydrants was given under the control of Rangers, the number of tankers supplied from all the nine hydrants of the KWSB ranged between 1300 and 4000 whereas the number of tankers supplied from these hydrants had jumped to 13,750 (10,328 commercial trips and 3,422 gratis trips) during 2003-2004 and almost similar number of tankers are drawing water from these hydrants nowadays although water supply from the Hub dam source had been restored in 2003.

Recalling the decisions of the meeting held on March 18 that was chaired by City Nazim Niamatullah Khan and attended by KWSB managing director Brig Iftikhar, sources said that its major decision was to take over all the hydrants from Rangers by March 31 after making necessary arrangements.

However, a senior official of the Rangers has informed KWSB managing director through a letter on May 10 that though no formal orders concerning the change of responsibility regarding water tanker service had been received from Sindh government, it is suggested that a phased handing/taking over (i.e. initially of two hydrants) might commence and as such staff be nominated to take over these hydrants.

Upon receiving the Rangers’ official letter, the KWSB chief engineer (Bulk and Transmission) wrote a letter to the former informing him that the KWSB was ready to take over the hydrants (Muslimabad and LSR), but as per policy approved by City Nazim Niamatullah Khan, also the KWSB chairman, these hydrants would be closed forthwith.