July 21, 2003	Monday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 20, 1424

KARACHI, July 20: Terming the rains ‘a boon’ for Karachiites, the city Nazim Naimatullah Khan on Sunday asked the officials of the water utility to immediately make arrangements for extend the duration of water supply to all the areas hooked to the Hub source.

He was briefing newsmen at Hub dam where he had gone to offer thanks-giving prayers for the sufficient rains that led to a serge in the dam’s water level which, on Sunday, jumped up to 313.7RL (Reservoir Level).

Mr Khan was a accompanied by the EDO of water and sanitation department, Brig (r) Javaid Ashraf and a number of town and union councils Nazims.

Expressing his pleasure over the increased water level, the Nazim announced that Karachi’s 14-mile long water supply canal would be repaired so that a considerable quantity of water, going waste daily at present, could be conserved.

He also urged the water utility officials to immediately introduce a proper surveillance system for the canal to ensure that no one could pollute the potable water and to avoid water theft.

The Nazim also announced that 70 per cent of water, to be received by Karachi in 2005 through the ongoing 100mgd K-3 project, would be supplied to the localities belonging to the former district West while the remaining 30 per cent to the other water-deficient pockets of the city.

Referring to the Karachi water supply canal, he said that the canal was handed over to the defunct KWSB by Wapda prior to the inception of the city government. “It does not make any sense for the city government to take over the canal because its Wapda which carries out repairing and maintenance of canals in Punjab and NWFP also,” he observed.

However, he added, till a settlement of canal issue, the city government’s W&S department would undertake its repair works to conserve the quantity of water which is lost due to seepage.

On being told that the water might start overflowing from the dam’s spillway towards the dam’s downstream area after attaining its full supply level of 339 feet, the Nazim asked the resident engineer of Hub dam project to intimate the residents of villages, falling along the downstream, to move to some safer places to escape any mishap.

Later, the Nazim visited a portion of the downstream to ascertain the location of villages.

Brig Ashraf told the Nazim that following the remarkable increase in the Hub water level, the city could now draw between 30 and 40mgd of water from the source for three years.

He said that since the water level is expected to go up further owing to continuous rains in the dam’s catchment area, the W&S department would not only reduce the gap in supply to the areas hooked to the Hub sources, but also extend its duration by four hours.

About the K-3 project, he said that work on the project was progressing at a satisfactory pace as all its required tenders had been awarded.

He hoped that with the completion of the project, the existing gap between supply and demand would reduce considerably which would eventually result in an improvement in the city’s overall supply position.

Brig Ashraf said that the water being received from Hub source was supplied to sprawling townships of Baldia, Orangi, Surjani, North Karachi and Shershah.

He pointed out that efforts were being made to strengthen the water supply system and to contain and prevent water loss.

The dam project’s resident engineer, Inamullah Khan, informed the Nazim that the dam’s reservoir level was likely to go up further within the current monsoon as its catchment area — comprising Dadu district, Kirthar National Park, Saruna, Duraji and Shah Noorani area (Balochistan) — had still been receiving rainwater.

Before the last Monday’s rains, he added, water level in the reservoir was 281.10RL which had risen to 282.70RL in the next 24 hours and jumped up to 313.7RL by Sunday.

He told the Nazim that once the dam attained its full supply level, 100mgd of water could be supplied to Karachi following completion of repair work pertaining to the Hub canal’s aqua-ducts and improvement of the condition of Karachi water supply canal.

Later, the city Nazim visited the Hub water filter plant which is being built through a soft loan of Rs1.25 billion granted by a Japanese bank.

The filter plant, which has a capacity to filter 100mgd water, will be completed in January 2005, he added.

He said that another filter plant of 50mgd capacity was being set up at Pipri with the Japanese bank’s loan would also be completed during the same period.

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