KARACHI: Water woes for residents in major parts of the city, including Clifton, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, and Liaquatabad have not come to an end despite the completion of repair work on the crucial 84-inch water main along the University Road as people in the affected areas are still facing acute shortage of water that is continuing for the past many days.

The city remained short of 150MDG of water for the past one week after the main burst, leading not only to water shortage but also a great deal of hardship for commuters and motorists due to the flooding of the main road near Karachi University.

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While the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) had set a 72-hour dead line for the repair work, it took the water utility to complete the work in one whole week as the main line was found burst in another nearby section, delaying the timely restoration of the water supply.

The KWSC in a statement on Monday said that the repair work on the main had been completed and the water had been released from the Dhabeji Pumping Station.

KWSC official promises early restoration of water in affected localities

However, residents of Clifton, Lyari, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Saddar, Burns Road and old city areas continued to suffer as the shortage persisted and is expected to remain so for a couple of more days to overcome the week-long shortage of water.

Similarly, people in Landhi, Korangi, and their neihbourhoods also faced shortage of water as the Landhi and Sherpao Hydrants were also closed during the period after the suspension of online tanker service in those locations.

The city faced a temporary shortage of 150MDG of water since last Monday when the supply was disrupted to carry out repair work on the portion of the water main reportedly damaged due to construction work on the BRT project.

The KWSC had claimed that the repair was set to last for 72 hours and the supply to the affected areas would be restored a few hours after the repair worked was completed, advising people to store water and use it carefully.

Sources in the water utility said that while almost 50 per cent of work on the damaged portion of the water supply line had been completed, another damaged portion was detected at some distance which was also repaired.

Chief Engineer (Water Trunk Main) Zafar Paleejo told Dawn that the repair work was completed in the afternoon and the water supply was restored to the affected areas by the evening.

The sources said that the repair work on the damaged main was delayed as the construction workers on the BRT project had dumped debris and concrete in six 16-foot pipes. They said that a lot of time was consumed to remove the concrete from the pipes.

The sources said that the 84-inch main had been damaged several times in the past during the construction and digging work by the BRT workers. They said that the water utility had held several meetings with the BRT authorities in this regard, but in vain.

The sources said that the KWSC had already given the whole plan of its underground infrastructure, including water mains and sewerage line, on the rout of the BRT, but still the pipe lines were damaged in digging and construction of the BRT track.

They said that repair work was carried out round the clock to meet the designated deadline given by KWSC CEO Syed Salahuddin Ahmed.

The sources said that the water supply in the damaged main was disconnected immediately as the portion of the University Road had flooded, causing immense problems to the commuters and motorists.

While the disruption in water supply piled miseries on the people, the damaged main and subsequent repair work also caused severe traffic jam not only on the main University Road but in the adjoining areas, especially Gulshan-i-Iqbal and Gulistan-i-Jauhar.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2024