‘If there’s no water in city, how are tankers still operating?’

Karachi
The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday asked the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board’s managing director to explain how water tankers were operating openly in the city despite the water utility’s claims of a massive water shortfall in the metropolis.
The development projects of the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) were also inquired after and warned of being banned by the court since those already living in the area were complaining of a water shortage.
The questions were raised by the SC’s three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali while hearing applications against illegal operation of water hydrants in the city, through illegal supply connections and tempering and damaging of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board KWSB’s distribution lines in different areas.
According to KWSB MD Misbahuddin Fareed the water tanker operators could not be asked to halt their services since the government had to pay Rs300 million to the operators on different services acquired of them, including supply of water to people who settled in various districts of the province following the floods.
Responding to the court’s query with respect to the IDP’s actually being supplied water, the MD maintained that he could not confirm the claim since water was provided as per the demands of the concerned district commissioners.
Further justifying the need for water tankers, he submitted the city was facing a shortage of 600 million gallon water per day, which could not be overcome completely till the K-IV project started operating. Farid also complained of the KWSB not being provided its due share by the Indus River System Authority, and also called for it to be increased.
Supply of water to industrial area was also cited a problem, whereas most of the areas of DHA were being supplied water through tankers.
CJ Jamali while expressing dissatisfaction over the performance of the KWSB, observed the water crises did not likely seemed to be overcome any time in the near future.
Blaming the water utility of mismanaging water distribution, the court denounced claims of water shortage on the premise that had that been the case water tankers would not have been able to operate in the city. The poor were being compelled to buy water on heavy prices, the court maintained.

DHA development
Questioning the construction of new development projects in the DHA despite a shortage of water in the area, the court asked secretary DHA to clarify the crisis even though the civic body was making millions in the name of development charges.
The court warned the authority of imposing a ban on its future development projects.
The court also took exception over non-functioning of desalination plant and directed the provincial chief secretary, KWSB and others to submit a report regarding on desalination plants currently functioning in the city.