Workers close down RO plants in Thar over non-payment of salaries

MITHI: The workers of RO plants closed down over 450 plants across the desert region of Thar to press for payment of their salary not released for last four months, media reports said.

Reverse osmosis (RO) has been a water purification technology that uses a semipermeable membrane to remove ions, molecules and larger particles from drinking water.

The workers protest to close RO plants caused severe water shortage in various towns and villages in Thar, forcing them to fall back on the brackish and often unhygienic water of ponds and wells.

The workers of plants after having received no response from the officials concerned closed down all the plants on Friday.

The higher authorities have been informed of the situation, Thar Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Asif Jameel said according to a report confirming closure of the RO plants.

The government of Sindh has installed hundreds reverse osmosis plants in the province to ensure supply of hygienic drinking water in arid regions of Sindh, which includes districts of Thar, Thatta, Badin, Sukkur, Shaheed Benazirabad, Noshero Feroz.

Recently, Sindh Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani in a meeting had directed the officials to ensure that all dysfunctional RO plants in the province are operational within two months.

Despite the importance of the RO plants as a major source of drinking water in Thar and other arid regions, it is yet to be known why the workers of these plants not being regularly paid their salaries.