Islamabad – Citizens of the federal capital has urged the Mayor to take necessary action to urgently restore the routine water supply to the sectors where it is disrupted for weeks now. Public is in sheer distress and blind on what the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) is doing to do the needful. On the other hand, the water tanker mafia in connivance with the MCI staff is fleecing public and minting money.
Islamabad Green Citizens Front (IGCF), a member of the Pakistan Civil Society Network, wrote a letter to the Islamabad Mayor Sheikh Anser Aziz on Thursday highlighting the water shortage in many of the residential sectors of the federal capital. Water scarcity has peaked in the recent days in the absence of the routine water supply as the MCI could not repair the Sangjani turbines and some other pipes supplying water to Islamabad.
In the letter, the IGCF convener Munir Ahmed wrote on behalf of the citizens that MCI water tanker facility is being misused by the water tanker mafia in connivance with the MCI staff deputed there. He said the MCI staff ask the citizens starved for water to buy private water tanker while the MCI tankers remained under-used.
He said this is ironic that MCI sells 2000 gallons of water from their G-10/4 and I-10 facilities at Rs.300 to a private water tanker that is supplied to a needy citizen in Islamabad from Rs.3000 to Rs.4500.
He said he himself had witnessed that private water tankers were queued up at the facility while the private tankers were getting filled up with water. This sheer violence of the mandate of the MCI concerned section and its staff. The pathetic situation shows the sorry state of affairs which should immediately be checked, and the miscreant should be taken to task who don’t run their own facility to the maximum of capacity.
The IGCF members, however, has requested the Mayor for immediate suspension of the shift in-charges of the water tanker facilities to conduct an impartial inquiry against them on supporting the private water tankers and negligence in providing relief to the citizens. Some honest and steadfast staff should be appointed to replace the suspended staff.
The IGCF has asked the Mayor to immediate stop irrational facilitation to the private tankers mafia and the MCI staff unduly facilitating them should be taken to task. Efficiency of the MCI water tanker facility shall be improved, and MCI should issue a proper receipt of whatever meagre amount it receives from the citizens on account of charges for the water tanker.
The IGCF has suggested the Mayor to immediately start water metering system in its jurisdiction besides launching monitoring teams including civil society volunteers to curb the misuse of water to wash cars and porches all around the city.
Some information is in the air that some influential institutions have illegally interrupted the water supply by inducting their pipes and sucking the water 24/7 that should be taken up with them and pointed out the spots in the media to highlight the injustice done by the state institutions against the public interest.
Most importantly, the urgent measures shall be taken to restore the regular water supply, and meanwhile the public shall be taken into confidence with public interaction and through media to tell the actualities of the water shortage.
