HYDERABAD, July 21: Residents of Hyderabad have proposed formation of a public representative committee to monitor implementation of water supply schemes. At a public consultation meeting held here on Thursday to solicit suggestions for the National Drinking Water Policy, they cited inefficiency of public institutions and shortage of fresh water as the main causes of polluted water supply.

The meeting was organized by the Network for Consumer Protection in collaboration with the Green Rural Development Organization.

Representatives of civil society organizations, political parties, lawyers, academia and the media participated in the meeting.

The participants criticized the existing policies and demanded that policymakers should incorporate public views in the National Drinking Water Policy to resolve the problem of supply of safe drinking water.

They opposed the idea of privatizing water services and observed that it would only increase poverty and make it more inaccessible.

Mohsin Babbar, a member of the drafting committee on the National Drinking Water Policy and project coordinator, water, of the Network for Consumer Protection, said without incorporating public views, especially of elected members of local governments, the policy could not achieve the objectives.

He said people should come up with concrete suggestions to overcome the drinking water problem. “Unless and until provision of polluted drinking water is taken as a crime, public institutions will not come up as true public service institutions,” he maintained.

The participants demanded legislation to stop release of industrial and municipal waste into fresh water reservoirs and distribution systems. They criticized city planners for issuing no-objection certificates to construction companies without considering the fact that they were not capable of providing drinking water to people.

“There is a need to include rules and regulations to stop builders from poor planning regarding drinking water structure,” said a participant.

Nazeer Memon of the Sindh Agriculture Forum said irrigation authorities should maintain a certain level of water in the Indus to make underground water clean and pure.

An independent water schemes engineer said water filtration plants were not performing up to the mark. He said addition of alum, cleaning of sedimentation tanks and chlorination needed attention. “Regular testing of treated water is also the need of the hour,” he said.

Jawed Shah, a social activist, suggested that the government should initiate a mass campaign, like the drive against polio, to create awareness among people about significance of clean drinking water.

District Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal president Waheed Qureshi urged people to unite on the drinking water issue because it was a matter of life and death.

Harsingh Thakur of the Husri Union Council said water equity was also a big problem as their community had one tap for 300 households. He said public taps or hand pumps should be made community property.

Former district council member Badarun Nisa urged policymakers to design capacity development programs for relevant water supply departments which would minimize mishandling of the water provision infrastructure and approaches.

A majority of the participants demanded that policymakers should clearly fix responsibilities to a single public institution for supplying clean drinking water to people.

Ashmara Arbab, Lali Kolhan, Maulana Taj Mohammad Nahiyoon, Bashiran Solangi, Lala Fazal Belai, Mohammad Ismail Jagirani, Dr Jawed Khwaja, Hussain Bux Thebo and Akhtar Jamali also spoke on the occasion.

FORMER MPA: Former MPA Eng Gyanchand has alleged that the anti-corruption establishment, Mithi, has registered a false case against his brother Mohan Lal who is already facing three anti-corruption cases and is languishing in the Hyderabad central jail.

In a statement faxed to Dawn here on Wednesday, he said the new case was registered at a time when his bail application in the previous cases was already pending with the court.

He said his brother was a former UC nazim and the jail administration did not allow him to sign the nomination form for the elections.