Water theft won't be allowed at any cost: official

In this photograph taken on August 22, 2015, employees fill water tankers at a government hydrant to provide residential areas in Karachi. — AFP

• Official says people not paying water bills to get legal notices.
• He instructs authorities to show no leniency with water thieves.
• Make mechanism of water distribution transparent, he directs.

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KARACHI: Secretary for the Local Government, Housing, and Town Planning Sindh Engineer Syed Najam Ahmad Shah said Tuesday that strict action should be taken against those who steal water allocated for the people of Karachi and Hyderabad. The secretary made the comments during a meeting attended by Special Secretary Local Government Khalid Chachar, Hyderabad deputy commissioner, and director-general of the Hyderabad Development Authority while officials of the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) were also present.

On the occasion, Syed Najam Ahmad Shah said that the people of Karachi and Hyderabad should not face the water shortage and that the elements involved in creating hurdles in water supply shall be dealt with no mercy.
Shah said that the Sindh government is “working day and night” for providing a continuous supply of water in the industrial and residential areas and Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah and Local Government Minister Nasir Shah were also paying special attention to the provision of clean water to the people. Secretary LG Sindh instructed the officials that no leniency shall be shown to water thieves and public interest should be kept on top priority all the time. Shah instructed to make the mechanism of water distribution transparent and directed regular delivery of bills to the domestic and commercial consumers and said that timely recovery of KW&SB bills is a must to make the institution active and stable. He also said that legal notices should be issued to the consumers who are resisting paying KW&SB liabilities. The secretary said that uprooting of all illegal water hydrants should be continued permanently and arrangements should be made for 24/7 monitoring of bulk water supply lines. Shah appealed to the people to register their complaints and suggestions regarding water supply on the complaint numbers of the water board and Sindh Local Government Department.

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