KARACHI, July 1: Saturday’s brief spell of rain not only wreaked havoc on the city’s infrastructure, it also created cracks in the Hub Canal on Sunday, forcing its closure for at least three days. This will result in the suspension of 100 million gallons of water per day (mgd) from the Hub Dam source, spelling further scarcity of water in the city.
Cracks have also developed in the Lasbella Canal, resulting in the suspension of water supply to both the Lasbella district and Bund Murad, which draw 59mgd and 2mgd of water respectively from the Hub source.
At a time when the level in the Hub Dam reservoir is just nine feet away from overflowing towards the Arabian Sea through the dam’s spillway, both the Karachi Supply Canal and the Lasbella Canal have developed cracks blamed on their poor maintenance by their custodians — the KWSB and the Balochistan government.
The city was getting 100mgd from the Hub Dam for meeting the water requirement of the sprawling townships of Orangi, Baldia, Surjani, Qasba, Site (both residential and industrial areas), Shershah and its adjoining areas.
Closure’s effect
Although KWSB officials claimed that the closure of the Hub Canal would not affect citizens as alternative arrangements of water supply to the localities hooked to the Hub source have been made, insiders in the water utility said the entire city would experience an acute water shortage owing to diversion of Indus water to the localities fed by Hub source.
Hence the localities being supplied by the Indus source will be affected.
Hub Dam nearly full
Well-informed sources in Wapda told Dawn that the water level in the Hub Dam reservoir, which was currently supplying 161mgd (Karachi 100mgd, Lasbella 59mgd and Bund Murad 2mgd), on Sunday increased to 330 RL (reservoir level) and since the flow of water in the reservoir was still pouring in from its vast catchment area, the reservoir will soon attain its full capacity of 339 feet.
This will be sufficient for the next two-and-half years if both the beneficiaries — Karachi and Lasbella — maintain their present level of supply from the Hub source.
‘Cracks at four places’
The Hub Canal has developed cracks at four places, each measuring an approximate length of 450 feet, 250ft, 150ft and 50ft, the sources said, adding that the city nazim, Syed Mustafa Kamal, who visited the Hub Canal on Sunday, directed the officials concerned to accelerate the pace of repair work in three shifts to ensure the restoration of water supply from the Hub Dam within three days.
“Already 30 per cent of the repair work has been accomplished and the remaining work will be completed within the next 72 hours,” the sources said.
Traffic chaos
Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the rains roads are in an abysmal state and overflowing sewers have been plaguing many localities. Before the rains the civic authorities had, for reconstruction purposes, dug up lanes along various roads.
Much of this work could not be completed before the monsoons and motorists are facing extreme difficulties since wherever a lane is closed, they have no choice but to drive on the wrong side of the road.
Such was the chaos witnessed from Jail traffic intersection to New Town and from Busy Bee Restaurant to the New Town roundabout on main University Road, the five-km stretch from Banaras Chowk to Raees Amrohvi Colony along main Shahrah-i-Orangi and from Sharea Faisal-Allahwala Chowrangi on main Sindhi Muslim Society Road.
A major road that links Federal B Area with Gulshan-i-Iqbal was tangled with traffic from Yaseenabad Bridge to the Aisha Manzil intersection, as was Korangi’s Road 13,000 and main Tipu Sultan Road from the Shaheed-i-Millat intersection to Adamjee Nagar. Most of I.I. Chundrigar Road and Stadium Road (in front of the Expo centre) were also gridlocked.
Fallen trees
People residing in Bhadurabad and KDA Scheme 1 complained that two huge trees, which were uprooted during last Saturday’s rains, have not been removed till Sunday. One of the trees could be spotted just in front of Street No 18, Sharfabad, and the other near Nadra’s provincial headquarters.
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