Chairman, Businessmen Group (BMG) and former KCCI president, Siraj Kassim Teli, has said more than 2500 industries in Site Industrial Area were closed and more are at the verge of closure due to non-availability of water. Addressing a joint press conference at Karachi Press Club along with President Site Association of Industry (SAI) Junaid Makda, Javed Bilwani, President KCCI Younus Bashir, Zubair Motiwala and others, he demanded immediate removal of Managing Director of Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB).
They said that a meeting was held with Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, minister local government and MD KWSB on July 18, 2016 duirng which the CM was apprised about illegal destruction of private water lines and false accusations against the industrialists of their involvement in water theft.
The Chief Minister ordered Local Government Minister and the MD to provide sufficient water to the Site industry. Against the bare minimum requirement of 42 MGD water, the managing director promised to provide 32 MGD water to the Site industry. But contrary to the decision not a single drop of water was provided to the Site industry. He added that as a result of non-availability of water the entire industry of site had gone out of production.
Teli said that the alarming situation of water crisis will not only cause colossal loss to the national revenue and GDP but will also put millions of workers out of job. The entire industrial community strongly condemns this malicious victimisation of most productive segment of the society and demanded immediate provision of due share of water to the Site industries. He said that the closure of industry will have negative impact on law and order in the city and workers may come out on road in protest.
Referring to allegations of water theft by Site industries, he said that the site industries were the major victim of water mafia and the industries had nothing to do with the theft of water. Rather, due to the utter negligence and failure of water board to provide even the bare minimum of the required water, they have to purchase it at very high cost through water tankers. He lamented that failure of water board to provide water was crippling the industries in the SITE Industrial Area.