Water, electricity theft

The Ministry of Water and Irrigation has issued a circular on Thursday notifying many parts of the country, including major areas in Amman, that their water supply will be disrupted for a whole five-day period because someone in the south of the country reportedly attacked the main water supply pipeline of the Disi Water Conveyance Project to irrigate his farm and water his cattle and sheep.

This is not the first time, nor will it be the last, when people in the country would be denied the normal weekly supply of water because someone, somewhere attacked the main water supply pipeline and diverted its water to his private use.

It is going to take more than five days to repair the damage this time, and many people will be left without their normal weekly ration of water.

It should not be difficult to identify and apprehend the culprit and take him to court on both criminal and civil charges. It is about time that the authorities take stealing water and electricity more seriously and prosecute the guilty in an open court.

Unless the authorities take more seriously such periodic attacks, they are going to continue at the expense of law-abiding citizens. The punishment of the felon should be severe and the trial of the guilty should be given wide news coverage, including by the state television network for all people to see and draw the appropriate conclusions. Otherwise, this lawlessness is going to cost the country and its people much harm and discomfort.

Raising awareness about this phenomenon could be just the start of the national effort to combat water and electricity theft. The sooner this is done the sooner the problem could be solved once and for all.