KARACHI: The Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) with the assistance of Rangers has caught one of the biggest water theft in the city and disconnected four illegal connections stealing five million gallon water meant for over 150,000 consumers of Lyari.

Sources in the water utility told Dawn on Tuesday that the antitheft operation was launched under the Rexer Bridge, where a 22-foot deep trench and a tunnel were discovered a couple of days ago.

The sources said that over two million gallon water was being stolen daily from the illegal connection, depriving the area people of the water meant for them.

They said that the water thieves were selling the water in the name of subsoil water at commercial rates and causing loss of over Rs1 billion to the exchequer.

The sources said that the water thieves had erected a concrete wall on one side of the bridge, turning it into garbage den to restrict access of people to the underground illegal infrastructure raised to steal water from the main line.

They said that four heavy duty suction pumps and motors were seized during the operation.

KWSC Chief Executive Officer Syed Salahuddin Ahmed told Dawn that the water was being stolen from the line supplying water to Lyari from under the bridge in Rexer Line.

He said that the a 33-inch diameter water line was laid in 2007 by the water utility to supply water to Liyar. `Five million gallon water was being stolen from the people of Lyari every day,` he said.