KARACHI, April 26: The Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) plans to introduce a metering system on major pipelines and will also take away the job of provision of water tankers from the rangers. This was stated by the KWSB Managing Director Brigadier (r) Iftikhar Haider at a programme organised for the launch of Karachi Water Partnership (KWP), a public-private initiative to resolve the water woes of Karachi. The programme was arranged by the Hisaar Foundation.

Elaborating upon the projects being undertaken by the board, Brig Haider said that work was being carried out to replace old pipelines and reduce water losses in the distribution system. He said that the utility would spend Rs2.5 billion to install the metering system on major pipelines so that data on supply and consumption could be maintained.

Replying to a question about the tankers’ mafia, he said the KWSB would take away the task of provision of water tankers from the rangers, and the town administrations would take over the responsibility. The tankers, he said, would be town-specific and won’t be allowed to operate from one town to another. The costly desalinated water would be sold to industries, while their water share would be provided to low-income areas.

Commending the organisers for launching the project, he urged citizens to build pressure on the government to take measures for improvement in the utility’s efficiency. Chairman Saiban and Chair KWP Advisory Council, Tasneem Siddiqui, said the concept that 40 per cent of Karachi’s population lived in slums was incorrect. In fact, he said, it was more than 50 per cent and the number was rapidly increasing. Not all of these were slums, but low-income areas.

“These people are not thieves. They pay -- illegally or legally — for every utility. In fact, they end up paying more for water, power and sewerage as compared to those living in posh areas,” he remarked, emphasising that water shortage, conservation, management, distribution and absence of having a proper tariff were major areas, which needed to be addressed.

In his recorded address, City Nazim Mustafa Kamal said that the proposal for a sewerage treatment project had been sent to the federal government. Its completion would ensure that not a single drop of water goes into the sea untreated, he said. An amount of Rs4.5 billion would be spent to improve the water supply infrastructure, while two projects costing about Rs330 million would be launched for industrial zones.

During the programme a documentary was also shown, which highlighted the global problem of water scarcity and climate change. The speakers, which included Executive Secretary, Global Water Partnership Dr Emilio Gabbrielle and Chair KWP Management Group, Simi Kamal, stressed the need for collective responsibility and said that the significant water challenges being faced by the city couldn’t be overcome by the government alone. Citizens must take responsibility and save water sensibly in every day life.

About the KWP, Simi Kamal said that it was linked to the Area Water Partnership concept, developed by the Global Water Partnership. Its mission was to support the development of an environmentally-friendly Karachi, with focus on safe water, conservation and management of sewerage, industrial and solid waste. To meet these objective, she said, the KWP would interact with various stakeholders including citizens, the government, industries and civil society organisations.