‘Corrupt’ KWSB officials to blame for water crisis, says JI

Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Wednesday held the allegedly corrupt officials of the Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KWSB), the unjust distribution of water and the tanker mafia responsible for the chronic water crisis in the city.

Addressing a public gathering during his visit to District West neighbourhoods, Rehman said that a majority of the areas in the district have been facing water shortage since long, but unfortunately, the people elected from those areas have not played their role in mitigate the problem.

The JI leader has been visiting various neighbourhoods on a daily basis in connection with the Karachi Rights Caravan to be held from the mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah on Sunday.

He urged the public not to give another chance to the people they have already tried their luck with. He asked them to support his party to get their local issues resolved in a transparent manner.

He said Karachi needs 1,600 million gallons of water but it is supplied only 500 million gallons. “Out of the total 550 million gallons, 40 per cent is stolen or wasted, according to official records.”

He added that the JI had already warned the KWSB during a sit-in outside the board’s headquarters that the relevant pumping station would be cordoned off in protest if the water utility does not mend its ways.

During Rehman’s visit to District West neighbourhoods, the JI chief also announced the names of the party’s candidates who are contesting the upcoming local government elections from their respective areas.