Plastic View dwellers, who resorted to the unauthorised use of a fire hydrant in the quest for water, have angered Meadow Glen Estate residents and owners of the ‘White House’ property.
The fire hydrant in question is situated at the top of Brabham Street just outside of the “The White House” property.
This common practice by the Pretoria east informal settlement residents persisted even after the metro warned residents against using fire hydrants, saying only its engineers were permitted to use them.
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According to municipal by-laws, no one is allowed to interfere with the provision of water supply services.
Further stating that should anyone be caught using the hydrants without the metro’s permission, they would be issued with a notice for contravention of the municipality’s by-laws.
The metro said if the offence continues, a penalty of a fine not exceeding R20 000 will be imposed or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 12 months.
Deirdre van Helsdingen representing the “White House” property owners, said Plastic View dwellers have hijacked the hydrant.
The property is situated just behind Plastic View, and it is also now being invaded.
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Van Helsdingen said the fire hydrant is used to fill the truck that provides water to Plastic View by permission of the metro.
“However, the residents of Plastic View have now hijacked the area and do their washing there, leaving the residents of Meadow Glen Estate very unhappy.”
She said the owners of the property she is representing are now seeking to file for an eviction process/.
“This is an infringement on private property and we will seek legal recourse to solve this very quickly before it escalates,” she said.
Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the city was not aware of the incident where Plastic View dwellers used the fire hydrant for domestic purposes.
“We will urgently investigate and put an end to such a practice,” Mashigo said.
He said Plastic View is provided with rudimentary water through 10 000 litres of mobile water tankers daily.
“The fire hydrant located at the top of Brabham Street was declared as the drawing point for rudimentary services.”
He said the fire hydrant is used for extinguishing fires. The city in response to Section 27 of the Constitution of South Africa declared some of the fire hydrants as the draw points for rudimentary water to be provided to informal settlements.
“The fire hydrant will be locked and access will only be given to authorised officials,” Mashigo said.
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