CM orders decisive operation against water theft in Karachi

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has decided to launch a vigorous operation against water theft so that water could be supplied to the affected areas of the city.

“The KWSB has to improve its overall performance by ushering in the best professional practices in its entire system, right from administration to water distribution, revenue collection to enhancing revenue resources, reducing line losses to completion of its projects in time,” he said while presiding over a meeting on the Karachi Water & Sewerage Board at the CM House on Friday.

Shah said the KWSB was responsible for the production, supply and distribution of water to the people of Karachi. “Therefore, it will have to demonstrate its professionalism in its working and services.”

The meeting was attended by Local Government Nasir Hussain Shah, Labour Minister Saeed Ghani, Karachi Administrator Murtaza Wahab, Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput, Special Assistant to CM Waqar Mehdi, Najmi Alam, Principal Secretary to CM Fayaz Jatoi, Local Government Secretary Najam Shah, and senior officials of the KWSB.

The local government minister, while briefing the CM on system-related issues, said that the overall water supply to the city was around 406 million gallons daily against a demand for 1,000 mgd. He added that the water distribution network, which had been built several decades back, had outlived its usefulness. “Weak water pipe joints have been responsible for water wastages and leakages,” he said.

Giving details of the water supply to Karachi, the minister said the KWSB took 450 mgd from Dhabeji, 100 mgd from Hub and 30 mgd from Gharo. “In this way, we have 580 mgd, of which 30 per cent or 174 mgd gets wasted due to line losses that means 406 mgd is available for the city.”

Karachi’s total water requirement stands at around 1,000 mgd with the estimate that its population was 25 million. According to Shah, the last addition to Karachi’s bulk water supply system was made in 2007 of 100 mgd through the K-III project. “The power breakdown problem at Dhabeji, Gharo or Hub results in immediate reduction in the water supply,” he said, identifying change of land-use in the city from residential to commercial as one of the reasons behind the persisting water woes.

The meeting was told that the water demand in each district/town of the city had increased two times against the quantity of water supplied, and consumers who had been living close to water mains/pumping stations drew water for their need, but tail-enders or consumers in elevated areas had not been getting water.

At this, the CM asked the question the local government minister and the KWSB’s team asked if there was such a massive shortage of 594 md in the city then how people were meeting it. The reply was that the water tanker service was being used for the purpose. At this, the CM said it meant that water was available in the system as the same was being used by the water tankers.

The local government minister said all the illegal hydrants had been demolished in the city and only six legal hydrants had been operational. At this, the chief minister said that the tankers were not going to Keenjhar or the River Indus to fetch water. “They are stealing water from the water board’s system,” he said.

Shah directed the chief secretary to coordinate with the Rangers, police and other related agencies to start a decisive operation against the water theft in the city. “I want you [KWSB] to take action against consumers who have installed heavy pumps on water supply lines and are also pilfering water from main lines through illegal water connections.”

The chief minister directed the KWSB’s administration to expedite work on their development schemes for adding more water to the system and also doing work to upgrade the distribution system and replace old pipes with new ones.

“A 65 mgd additional water supply scheme of Rs9.1 billion, rehabilitation of the Hub Canal and the installation of a five million gallons daily desalination project under the PPP [public-private partnership] mode should be taken up on a fast track basis,” he said and added that the KWSB must improve its performance in terms of its services, revenue generation, and professionalism to handle the entire operation.

The chief minister said the water distribution system of the KWSB was so defective that some areas of the city had been receiving water round the clock while various others had to wait for their turn for weeks. “This system needs to be made judicious,” he said and directed the KWSB to prepare a zoning plan for water distribution at the water trunk main level and town distribution network to provide water up to the tail-end consumers.