KARACHI: The 19th century Jamila Pumping Station was made operational on Saturday following weeks of repair and maintenance, with authorities claiming that the upgrades would resolve the long-standing sewerage issues in old city areas.

Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab, along with Deputy Mayor Salman Abdullah Murad, formally inaugurated the Jamila Street Pumping Station off Essa Khan Road in Usmanabad area of Lyari where the new machinery was placed along with standby generators to keep it running even during power outages.

Talking to reporters after the inauguration, the mayor said that the capacity of the Jamila Street Pumping Station had been increased from nine million gallons to 17m gallons, which would help resolve sewage issues in old city areas including Saddar, Lyari, Garden and other parts of South district. He said that despite the fact that the past mayors, federal and provincial ministers were elected from Lyari, none had tried to improve the performance of the colonial era-built facility.

“After receiving requests from local residents, we successfully completed this project to enhance the station’s machinery,” he said. “We have installed five new imported pumps in this and standby generators have also been deployed to address loadshedding issues. With these improvements, sewage water disposal in the area would now be managed smoothly. Lyari has always been important for us and we are putting our effort for the relief of people of Karachi without any discrimination.”

He also mentioned that Lyari’s Cheel Chowk, located 100 metres from the pumping station, was once a place people couldn’t visit due to law and order situation but due to efforts of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government the public access had been restored and the development work is also going on in the area.

“This Jamila Street Pumping Station, which was built in 1887, in fact reflects Karachi’s historical legacy. I feel sorry over the neglect of Karachi’s heritage buildings, which has diminished the city’s historical significance,” said Mayor Wahab.

The mayor also referred to the misuse of land provided by the Sindh government to the Pakistan Railways for tracks, stating that instead housing societies, petrol pumps, and buildings were being raised on the state property.

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2024