With the issuing of necessary instructions by the commissioner of police to the station house officers (SHOs) of respective police stations for registering cases, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) officials have issued directions to the concerned Managers (Engineering) of their section to file criminal cases on illegal connection holders at concerned police stations from August 16.

In case of any problem in filing cases, the managers (engineering) should coordinate with the director (revenue) through their general manager (E).

The managers of water board have been directed by HMWS&SB managing director J Syamala Rao to detect illegal connections in their respective jurisdictions and to lodge complaints with the police for launching prosecution against the culprits in order to punish them.

The detected illegal connections should be disconnected immediately. The concerned employees of the water board have been warned that disciplinary action will be taken against the persons who fail to comply with the instructions for the detection of illegal connections and the subsequent filing of criminal cases. 

Syamala Rao told Express that some people are resorting to water theft from the HMWS&S Board pipelines through illegal connections causing financial loss to the water board and also causing pollution of drinking water.