SC orders complete closure of water hydrants in Karachi

KARACHI: The Supreme Court gave orders on Thursday to shut down all water hydrants in the city.

A two member bench led by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali heard a case against illegal water hydrants.

Managing Director Water Board said that one water hydrant each has been reserved for six districts in the city, NLC and DHA. He said that at the moment 12 water hydrants are working in the city.

To this the apex court remarked that no one is ready to own the city. “KMC and Water Board are filled with ghost employees. They are not interested in taking care of the public. They only want to get paid sitting in the comfort zone of their homes,” the CJ said.

Justice Ameer Hani Muslim said that if the Water Board can not take care of the public it should outsource its duties to a more efficient firm.

The CJ remarked the city is desperate for clean drinking water. “At places where there is no clean water people stage protest. If water is scarce, how do the tankers get it?” he said.

The CJ added that white elephants occupied the Cantonment Board and Defence Housing Authority. “To this day no water is supplied through pipelines at DHA phase one.”

He said that water supply through the city is controlled by wall men.

The court ordered all hydrants to be closed at once, and a re-tender be issued in five weeks in case of an emergency.