KARACHI: Repair work on the pipeline of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board that burst on Saturday afternoon did not start even after the passage of over 30 hours as the water was still being pumped out of the ruptured section of the 84-inch diameter pipeline till late on Sunday evening.

The water from the damaged pipeline inundated University Road, particularly areas near the Federal Government Urdu University. A large number of students who had to reach the university to appear in tests and examinations on Sunday faced hardship navigating through the pooled water and the resultant sludge.

A couple of students fell into a nullah but were rescued by the fellow students standing nearby.

A KWSB spokesperson told Dawn that though the water being pumping into the pipeline had been stopped yesterday at the Dhabeji pumping station but there was still some water in the pipeline which was being drained out. Probably it would be empty by early Monday to allow repair work to be started. It would be completed in around 36 hours, he said.

He said the pipeline had developed some leaks a few days back and repair work was already under way when a portion of the worn out pipeline, which was laid in 1958 and was part of the Greater Karachi Water Scheme, ruptured near Aziz Bhatti Park in Gulshan-i-Iqbal.

He said that the damaged pipe was constructed at the KDA’s pipe factory. As the nullahs — storm water drains — in the vicinity and along the University Road were chocked up with garbage and grass they were not able to drain the pipe’s water which had inundated the University Road.

He said the KMC and DMC teams had also come along with their equipment to help out in draining the standing water.

Meanwhile, he said, that when a KMC rescue team’s bulldozer was pushing the water from the road into the drain it hit a pipeline valve near the National Bank and damaged it, causing another leak. The valve was later changed and leakage plugged, he said.

He said that most of the water had been drained out from the road. Because of the pipeline damage the city was facing a shortage of around 60 million gallons daily and the most affected areas included Jamshed Town, Lyari, Defence, Clifton, Keamari etc.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2015