MITHI: Eighty-four reverse osmosis (RO) plants are being closed down today (Wednesday) in various areas of Thar due to non-payment of dues by the Sindh Coal Authority (SCA) to Pak Oasis, a firm engaged in Thar for installing the solar plants to provide drinking water to the people of the desert region.

Officials of the firm, which was awarded the contract in 2005 to install RO plants in Thar, on Tuesday said that they would stop running the plants from Wednesday. Those plants which would be closed down include reportedly the biggest RO plant of Asia at Misri Shah area of Mithi town.

The firm’s contract ended in June 2016 and since then the SCA did not pay its dues.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2017