KARACHI: In two separate meetings held on Monday, the businessmen of the city discussed the problem of water scarcity and roadside encroachments with the caretaker Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Fazal-ur-Rehman. Representatives of Sindh Industrial Trading Estate (SITE) Association of Industry and Karachi Chambers of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) apprised their respective issues to caretaker Sindh Chief Minister, Fazal-ur-Rehman in two separate meetings held on Monday. The representatives told the CM that leading industrial areas in Karachi had been facing problems of roadside encroachments and acute water scarcity since months and no concerned government agency had reached out to support them. Zubair Motiwala and members of SITE Association of Industry told the CM about the problems faced by the business community due to encroachments and scanty supply of water and other facilities to the industries. Similarly, a 16-member team of KCCI led by Qasim Siraj Teli discussed the issues of encroachments, traffic jams and water with the CM. The delegations told the CM that growing encroachments in parts of industrial site were resulting in traffic jams and the industrial production was being hampered owing to water shortage. They said that interruptions in the power supply were keeping the manufacturing firms from reaching their optimum production potential. CM Fazal-ur-Rehman , while assuring the representatives, said that his government would resolve their issues on priority basis. He also told the businessmen that deputy commissioners would be directed to remove encroachment. He also directed traffic police to ensure that there were no traffic jams in the industrial areas of the city. While discussing the water scarcity with the businessmen community, the CM said that he was hopeful that the water issue would be resolved, to some extent, after the completion of K-IV water project. He added that there was a dire need to treat waste water and reuse it for industrial purposes. Published in Daily Times, July 10th 2018.