KARACHI, Aug 23: Due to the damage caused by electricity outages at water pumping stations, the citizens of Karachi will face a shortage of 60.70 million gallons per day (MGD) of water, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) said in a statement on Thursday.

The KWSB said that a 36-inch diameter main water line at the Old Gharo pumping station burst due to a power breakdown.“This cast iron pipeline has been in use since 1943 and the water board is unable to change it due to unavailability of cast iron pipes. Still repair work was under way in the supervision of the chief engineer (bulk) and supply will hopefully be resumed by midnight although citizens of Karachi will face water shortages during the next 24 hours,” read a press release issued by the KWSB.

“In the meantime the Dhabeji pumping station is working at full capacity after the supply was resumed following a 20-minute power breakdown there.

According to another statement issued by the KWSB, “the 20-minute power outage at the Dhabeji pumping station on Thursday caused a loss of 30.57 MGD of water.

“Repair of the 36-inch diameter main line at the Gharo pumping station is under progress and citizens of Karachi will face 40.70 MGD water shortage due to the damage to KWSB installations caused by these power breakdowns. Moreover, Wapda has also cut down the allocated 100 MGD by 20 million gallons causing disruption in water supply to Orangi Town, Baldia Town and Keamari.

“Malir, Landhi, Shah Faisal Colony, Akhtar Colony and Razzaqabad will be partially affected due to the damage at different pumping stations and pipelines, whereas, some areas of PECHS society will also face water shortage,” it stated.

Water board managing director Misbahuddin Farid asked Wapda authorities to ensure that the KWSB was provided with the allocated quota as per a decided formula.

Meanwhile, rejecting the water board allegations about loadshedding at the Gharo and Dhabeji pumping stations as “false propaganda”, the KESC said that the water board pumping stations had been totally exempted from loadshedding and it was the “faulty and dilapidated internal cables within the premises of the pumping stations that have been causing outages and pumping failures”.

While welcoming a KWSB call for initiating a high-level inquiry into water board affairs, the KESC said that any impartial inquiry would certainly validate the fact that there was no loadshedding conducted by the KESC at the pumping stations.

“This is despite the fact that the water board has outstanding dues of over Rs17 billion and the monthly electricity bills of Rs350-400 million/month remain unpaid consistently,” the KESC said.

“The internal cables of the key pumping stations providing water to the city are beyond their serviceable life, but the negligent board authorities have not been paying any attention to this vital issue.

“Repeated issues with the water board towards discharging its responsibilities are reflective only of poor management at the KWSB’s end and they seem unable to correct their inefficiencies and faulty policies,” the KESC claimed in the statement.

The KESC had offered to share the cost of cable replacement with the water board, but the water board had not even given any response in this regard, it said.

“Despite repeated claims of damage to KWSB pipelines, the water board has still not implemented any contingency plan to develop a standby power supply system to meet any emergency,” the KESC claimed.

The KESC asked the water board to be regular in the payment of bills.