KARACHI, June 12: City Nazim Naimatullah Khan has directed that illegal water connections be immediately severed, if they are not regularized with due payments.

He issued the directive while addressing the Nazims, Naib Nazims and councillors of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town, here on Wednesday.

Managing director KESB, Brig Behram Khan, town Nazim Abdul Wahab, Naib Nazim Engineer Saleem Azhar, member city council, Engineer Abdul Aziz, and other elected representatives were also present on the occasion.

The Nazims of the union councils, on the occasion, identified the problems of water shortage, contamination of drinking water and water leakages in their areas.

They said if those problems were overcome, the shortage of water in Gulshan-i-Iqbal Town would be solved to a great extent.

The city Nazim said the decisions taken in the meeting would be implemented before the next meeting. He said that the end of water contamination should be the first priority and no exigency on that count would be tolerated.

He observed that the councillors had candidly portrayed their problems. He said that in areas where problems were not so many, or where the water board staff were working well, the councillors had appreciated the work. He said it was a good omen as the problems could be expeditiously solved if the elected representatives and officials worked with mutual understanding and confidence. He asked the Nazims to also play their role in connection with the payment of KWSB bills.

Naimatullah Khan pointed out that for the first time the city government had started a survey of the city’s 538 katchi abadis to bring them into the KWSB’s network. He said once the residents of katchi abadis came into that network, the Water Board would be bale to find no excuse for non-supply of water to them.

However, he emphasized, it was also the responsibility of the citizens to pay the water and sewerage taxes. “It is also the responsibility of the elected representatives to help improve the KWSB’s recovery position,” he added.

The city Nazim directed that the drive to disconnect illegal water connections be accelerated. He said that city council was the most revered institution of the city government and all the officials, including himself, were bound to obey its decisions.—APP