KARACHI, March 13: The mystery shrouding the disappearance of a huge quantity of 10 million gallons per day (mgd) from its course between Hub Dam’s reservoir and Karachi pumping station figured high but remained unresolved at a meeting of top officials of the concerned departments held here recently.

The meeting was chaired by the provincial Additional Chief Secretary, Ghulam Sarwar Khero and attended by the officials of Wapda and the city government’s Water and Sanitation Department.

Upholding the March 3 decision of resuming water supply to Karachi and Lasbela from the Hub source for 72 and 48 hours respectively on rotation basis, the secretary heard both the sides patiently.

Disappearance of 10mgd water came to light in the wake of a controversy involving Wapda and W&S Department. The Wapda officials maintained that they were releasing 25mgd water to Karachi from the Hub source while the W&S department authorities claimed that they were getting only 15mgd at the city’s pumping station, about 19 miles from the source.

Refusing to accept the W&S Department’s claim, a Wapda official contended at the meeting that the release of 25mgd could be verified as it was a daily routine. He said the flow from the sluice gate of the Hub Dam’s reservoir could be monitored by the competent authority.

He argued: “If a line loss of five per cent is taken into account for 5.2 miles long main canal (from Hub Dam to head regulator) and another 15 per cent while water passes through 14- mile long Karachi Supply Canal, the total loss should not exceed from 20 per cent i.e. 5mgd. Even in such a situation, the destination must have received 20mgd water and not 15mgd as being claimed by the W&S Department.”

He further stated that earlier, the pumping upto 17mgd was recorded at Hub station after March 5 which, if accepted, indicated a loss of 3mgd.

The meeting was also informed that Karachi Supply Canal was in very bad shape and needed to be maintained properly to avoid water loss. The length of the Hub Canal is 19 mile and, except for its 5.6-mile section which is still with the Wapda, it was handed over to Sindh government in 2000.

On its part, the W&S Department rejected Wapda’s claim and insisted that 25mgd water was not being released to Karachi.

Failing to reach a conclusion, the secretary directed the two departments to form a joint team to measure with a proper gadget the quantity of water being released from the source and received at the destination. This, he suggested, would enable the team to determine the actual loss of water on its way and any possible pilferage. He said the exercise would also help identify the spots if there was any leakage requiring repair or plugging.

Water supply to the city from the Hub source was last stopped on Oct 16, 2002, following a constant drop in water level in the Dam’s reservoir which eventually touched the dead storage level of 276 RL (Reservoir Level). It was, however, restored on March 4, after a gap of four-and-a-half months, when water level rose by 5.6 feet following recent rains which brought the reservoir’s level up to 281.6 feet from the sea level.

DUES: The meeting was told that Sindh and Balochistan gov-ernments owed a huge amount of Rs1,307.288 million to Wapda under the head of Hub Dam’s apportionment, operation and maintenance cost till June 2002.