NAWABSHAH: Retired Justice Amir Hani Muslim, head of the one-man Supreme Court-mandated commission on water quality and drainage in Sindh, has expressed frustration over failure of the authorities concerned in complying with the directives he had issued during previous visits.
Justice Muslim, who visited Nawabshah, Sanghar, Mirpurkhas, Tando Adam and Beerani on Thursday, expressed serious concern over performance of Pak Oasis, the private company which was responsible for running and maintaining reverse osmosis plants in Nawabshah.
He said during a visit of water supply scheme at Gajrahwah and other places along with secretary of irrigation Jamal Mustafa Syed that he did not see any improvement as the reservoirs were full of filth and no efforts had been taken so far to clean them and provide safe and clean drinking water to citizens.
He directed district and sessions judge of Shaheed Benazirabad, Zahoor Ahmed Hakro, to conduct a thorough enquiry into the causes behind failure to provide potable water to the town’s residents.
He directed the judge to supervise the entire process of water supply and submit report to the commission.
The judge asked the district administration to ensure that all sugar mills installed water treatment plants at the earliest. He directed Shaheed Benazirabad commissioner to immediately remove all encroachments from the embankments of rainwater drains.
A representative of Pak Oasis complained that they were not being provided required water for filtration plant and the judge asked secretary of irrigation to ensure the plants received required water.
SANGHAR: Justice Muslim expressed frustration over non-compliance with his previous directives with regard to water supply and drainage installations in Tando Adam, Beerani and Sanghar on Thursday.
He was displeased over inordinate delay in completion of Bakhoro Canal water supply scheme which was scheduled to be completed in 2011 but work on the scheme dragged on well into 2018 and still it remained unfinished.
The officials concerned blamed insufficient funds for the unfinished work and the judge directed them to ensure completion of the scheme till December 2018 under supervision of the provincial secretary of irrigation.
Sanghar Deputy Commissioner Liaquat Bhatti informed the commission head that storage reservoirs had been empty, which had resulted in inadequate supply of water to citizens.
He visited Tori Mori Shakh from where water was taken for the city and was informed that influential landlords were stealing water in collusion with irrigation officials.
He directed police and district administration to take strict action against water thieves and ordered FIRs be lodged; deputy commissioner and SSP should conduct regular monitoring of the channel.
The judge was angered when he found that his previous directives about installation of filtration system in the RO plant to enhance its quality and capacity had not been complied with.
The public health department officials told him that they had not yet received funds for the purpose.
He asked chief municipal officer to release funds within 24 hours for the installation of the system.
MIRPURKHAS: Justice Muslim expressed anger at chief municipal officer for serious negligence in performance of assigned duty.
People were being supplied filthy and contaminated water but the CMO Shafique Ahmed Shah was unfazed about their plight, said the judge and warned him to ensure supply of clean and safe drinking water to citizens or face stern action.
Justice Muslim was visiting water supply scheme in Satellite Town on Wednesday night. He was accompanied by secretary of public health engineering department Riaz Memon, Mirpurkhas Commissioner Abdul Waheed Shaikh, Deputy Commissioner Sheharyar Gul Memon, officers concerned, journalists and citizens. He ordered project director and contractor of mega drainage project to appear in his office over complaints about use of substandard material in the project.
When the judge saw large crowds of people getting purified water from a reverse osmosis plant tank he expressed anger and issued directives to in-charge of the plant to establish another water tank and ensure providing purified water round the clock without any interval.
He ordered to replace in-charge of water supply schemes Jawad Pathan and issued directives to remove encroachments on banks of Jarwary Shakh and complete de-silting and ongoing work on reservoirs in the Satellite Town water supply scheme.
The judge visited Iqbal Narejo village in Hussain Bux Marri taluka where he found silt deposits in ponds and asked the officers concerned to ensure cleaning of the ponds and make water supply scheme functional.
Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2018
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