KARACHI, June 27: Tankers drawing water from the LSR (Low Supply Reservoir) hydrant continue to ruin two streets and a portion of the main University Road and yet the hydrant’s closure is being delayed on the one pretext or the other. Already two streets, situated on either side of Gulshan-i-Iqbal Town Municipal Administration’s office, have been devastated while a portion of main University Road is in the process of being ruined owing to frequent movement of over 3,000 tankers drawing water from it daily.

Besides, flow of traffic on main University, especially in front of Gulshan Town’s office and in the vicinity of Civic Centre, often comes to an abrupt halt whenever tankers join traffic on University Road. Tankers create hindrance in smooth flow of traffic while making a U-turn from the busy road either proceeding towards Hassan Square intersection or to New Town roundabout.

Initially, the LSR hydrant was supposed to be handed to the KWSB on May 25 and was also to be closed the same day but the KWSB has refused to take it over from rangers as tankers fed from it to water-deficient pockets on both gratis and commercial basis were not adjusted to other Rangers-controlled hydrants.

The decision to close the hydrant was taken by the city government’s advisory committee early this year after it received complaints that the hydrant has become a source of nuisance for residents and tankers were creating traffic jams.

The meeting, which was chaired by the City Nazim, Niamatullah Khan and was attended by the KWSB managing director, Brig Iftikhar Haider and deputy managing director (Technical Services) Israr Zaidi and Nazims of towns, was also of the view that water supply position in a number of localities belonging to four towns – Lyari, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Jamshed Town and Saddar – could easily be improved through pipelines once the LSR is closed.

Even the KWSB managing director, Brig Haider, had told Dawn that the water level at COD filter plant would automatically go up following closure of the LSR and the localities of the four towns would get uninterrupted supply with a pressure through pipelines.

However, at a time when the matter of closure of the hydrant has been shelved, people questioned why there was a water shortage.