Daily Times

Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar on Thursday vowed to rid the residents of the metropolis of the menace of the ‘tanker mafia’.

A CJP-led bench heard a case pertaining to supply of potable drinking water and sanitation in Sindh at the Supreme Court Karachi Registry.

The bench lauded the report presented by the Supreme Court-mandated Sindh Water Commission and ordered monthly performance reports on the progress made in providing clean drinking water and sanitation in the province.

The secretary for water informed the court that the Manchar Lake provided 300 million cubic metres of water annually.

The CJP expressed his displeasure at the failure of the authorities to clean the lake.

“You did not spend out of Rs 14.5 billion. The state of the sea is deplorable,” Chief Justice Nisar said to the secretary.

Every day, 450 gallons of sewage water is entering the sea, the CJP remarked, questioning what the government did to fix the problem in the past 10 years.

Chief Justice Nisar resolved that the court would itself monitor the progress in ensuring safe drinking water to the masses.

He further vowed to rid the residents of the tanker mafia, adding that the residents must be provided with clean water no matter what.

The SC ordered removal of advertisements from walls built for defence purposes in the metropolis.

Cantonment Board officials informed the court that on its directives, most of the walls with advertisements have been demolished, including those built within the limits of Faisal Cantt.

Representatives from the Outdoors Advertisers Association told the court that they had spent Rs 15 billion and that a mechanism should be put in place to avoid the losses.

To this, Chief Justice Saqib Nisar observed that they had destroyed the city by erecting boards and poles wherever they wanted.

“You are responsible for your losses. Try another business,” the top judge remarked. The bench then ordered the relevant authorities to remove advertisements from walls built for defence purposes, in addition to demolishing the walls with advertisements constructed all over the city.

Published in Daily Times, June 22^nd 2018.