KARACHI, Sept 30: Since the closure of Muslimabad hydrants, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board has been unable to set up alternative hydrants on a permanent basis.

The two hydrants, located in the residential area of Muslimabad, were closed down a couple of months ago on the orders of Sindh High Court.

The KWSB had set up a hydrant on China Ground as an alternative arrangement to provide water through tankers to the residents of Manzoor Colony and Mehmoodabad on a temporary basis. However, frequent movement of tankers drawing water from it played havoc with the adjacent roads, including the recently reconstructed Kashmir Road.

People residing in the adjacent localities, who have been protesting over the water utility’s act of turning the China Ground into a hydrant, said that the KWSB by setting up the hydrant not only deprived the area youths of a famous cricket ground but also exposed traffic on adjoining roads to hazards.

“Isn’t it an irony that at a time when an important artery (Dadabhoy Nauroji Road) which serves as a main link road between the Society Office and Gurumandir had already been lying in a highly dilapidated condition, the KWSB has allowed tanker operators to ruin other adjoining roads, including the newly-built Kashmir Road, Aisha Aziz Road and Sharah-i-Quaideen,” observed an elderly person residing on Kashmir Road.

Though the KWSB officials concerned at the time of setting up China Ground hydrant had claimed that it would be operated purely on a temporary basis, it had been functioning till last Saturday.

The hydrant had been temporarily closed to spare space for the area residents to offer their Eid prayers. It was then relocated near the central prison, damaging a portion of University Road that was reconstructed by the city government.

However, the jail authorities expressing concern over the setting up of the hydrant termed it a security risk, an official of the KWSB said, adding that it had been closed now.

Meanwhile, residents of Federal B Area’s Block 13 complained that a hydrant existing in their locality since long had become a permanent source of nuisance for them as a large number of tankers which remained parked all around it had not only caused extensive damage to adjoining streets, including the main service lane, near Water Pump traffic intersection but have also usurped their right of privacy.—Staff Reporter