Karachi: Kamal announces ban on water tanker service to industrial areas

[Naveed Yaseen]

City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal on Monday announced imposing a ban on the supply of water to industrial zones of Karachi through water tankers, claiming that the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) is now in a position to supply water to all factories through pipelines.

Talking to a group of industrialists from the North Karachi Association of Trade and Industry at his office, he said: “I would urge all factory and mill owners to pay their water bills regularly and obtain water connections, so that they could be supplied with water through pipelines.”

The Nazim said that out of 2,500 industries in North Karachi Industrial Zone, only 600 were in the network of KWSB. He warned that if all these people did not pay their KWSB bills, it would be impossible to run the affairs of the water board.

Kamal said that the CDGK carried development works of Rs4.5 billion in the industrial areas within the last three-and-a-half years, which included the laying of water and sewerage infrastructure. “Now the KWSB is in the position to provide water connections to each and every industry in the city, while water is also available in abundance. It is now imperative that all industrialists get water connections and pay KWSB bills regularly”, he added.

He claimed that the KWSB pays Rs2.5 billion annually in the head of electricity charges alone, and if the citizens don’t pay their dues regularly, the organisation will ultimately collapse. At the occasion, he also directed inviting tenders for the construction of 9100 and 2000 roads in North Karachi Industrial Area, and assured that as soon as resources are made available to the CDGK, these roads would be constructed.

He also asked the officials concerned to carry out a survey of all those sectors of the industrial area which are not included in the Master Plan but have factories, so that water and sewerage connections could be given to those industries.

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