Work to plug Hub Canal breach under way
KARACHI: Work to plug the 150-foot breach in Hub Canal continued on Tuesday, officials said.
They said that the work would be completed on Wednesday (today) but water supply to the city from the canal might not be restored until Friday.
Karachi Water and Sewerage Board vice chairman Najmi Alam told Dawn that the protected wall had been erected to plug the breach and the work on it would continue during the night hours so that the water supply to the city would be restored as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Local Government Secretary Engineer Syed Najam Ahmad Shah visited the canal on Hub River Road and reviewed the alternative arrangements for water supply to the city from Hub Dam.
The LG secretary said that no interruption in the repairing works would be tolerated and all the required machinery, equipments and manpower should be utilised to solve the issue as soon as possible and uninterrupted supply of water should be made possible to the residents of the city.
He hoped that in the next 48 hours, the rehabilitation process of water shortage affected areas would start and the things will become better gradually.
Meanwhile, the K-Electric said that an emergency had been imposed as the rainfall in Hub had caused an extraordinary amount of water spill out from the dam.
A KE spokesman said that the power supply to the area was affected early Tuesday morning due to a damage sustained by a 132kV transmission tower.
He said that the emergency and rescue operations had indicated that water levels, which currently stand at three to four meters high were expected to recede in two to three days subject to weather conditions, following which KE would be able to begin restoration efforts.
The water level in Hub Dam has risen from the full mark of 339 feet, while the dam’s spillways have recorded a very unusual release of water.
Due to this situation, a flood situation has arisen in Hub River and the administration has imposed a state of emergency in the area.
According to Wapda sources, the water level in Hub Dam was between 342 and 343 feet on Monday night.
Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2022