KARACHI, March 22: The city Nazim’s orders concerning closure of two hydrants, situated at Federal B’ Area’s water pump roundabout and North Nazimabad’s Sakhi Hassan, continue to be flouted by the concerned organizations.

Frequent movement of tankers drawing water from these two hydrants and others belonging to the city government’s water and sanitation department, have caused an extensive damage to the adjacent roads, and potholes have been created on a number of roads and streets owing to leaking nozzles of the tankers.

Orders for the closure of the F B Area hydrant were issued by the Nazim more than a year back while Sakhi Hassan hydrant’s closure was ordered four months back.

The closure was ordered on the request of Nazims of Gulberg and North Nazimabad, Farooq Naimatullah and Fasihuddin Siddiqui who made a presentation before the Nazim that they have damaged roads and these were also creating hindrance in the smooth traffic flow.

A number of fatal accidents, involving water tankers, have also occurred at Sakhi Hassan and Federal B’ Area water-pump roundabouts.

However, the orders, so far, have remained unheeded and senior officials of water and sanitation department say that though the hydrants are its property, their operation was being monitored by the rangers they can only make a decision about the closure.

A visit to the hydrants as well as others, situated in Gulshan-i-Iqbal, near the city government’s secretariat and Muslimabad, revealed that a number of roads and streets nearby have been devastated or were in the process of being ruined owing to frequent movement of tankers.

The roads which have already developed craters and potholes include several internal streets of Muslimabad and Catholic Colony, Dadabhoy Nauroji Road, parts of Sharea Quaideen, Khalid Bin Waleed Road, Tariq Road, a portion of New M. A. Jinnah Road, main Jehangir Road, Kashmir Road, Major Fareed Bukhari Road, Sindhi Muslim Housing Society’s main roundabout.

A accidents involving tankers have become routine on the roads where tankers keep on plying, violating their fixed speed limit of 40 mph.

Although the people have been demanding shifting of the hydrants, their requests have gone in vain.

They said that the hydrants were a permanent source of nuisance to them and their privacy has been usurped owing to parking of tankers on their Mohallah streets.

Meanwhile, another private hydrant near Malir Halt bus stop has been causing damage to the nearby roads, and their day and night operation also poses danger to the area people, as they fear schoolchildren might fall victim to rash and negligent driving by tankers.

The water tanker drivers also indulge in violation of rules and they some time take a wrong direction while going on Sharea Faisal.

The area people have urged the Nazim to the traffic police to check the activities of the tankers which remain parked along the wall of the Security Printing Press.