KARACHI, Nov 29: A major street which separates PECHS block 2 from Lines Area has been flooded with filthy water gushing out of a choked sewerage line in the locality.
Almost similar situation has been prevailing in the vicinity of Suleman Plaza, situated in Gulshan-i-Iqbal’s Block 10, in front of the Millennium Shopping Mall and near Askari petrol pump, Rashid Minhas Road; and near Jauhar Chowrangi.
The water overflowing from gutters has not only created a filthy environment, but is also damaging the portions of roads, where it has got accumulated.
Residents of Lines area complained that although the dirty water had been accumulating on the street for the last one week, the officials concerned of the KWSB had not yet bothered to rectify the problem of overflowing gutters.
During a visit to the locality, this reporter saw pedestrians, including women and children, wading through the sewage on the street prior to Eid-ul-Fitr.
“We have brought the issue to knowledge of the locality’s Naib Nazim but the problem was still there,” a resident of Lines Area remarked.
SHORTAGE: Several localities of the former East district on Saturday either went dry or received scant supply owing to bursting of a 33-inch dia rising main, near LSR hydrant, on the first day of Eid.
Although a spokesman for the KWSB had claimed on Friday that water supply to the localities hooked to the punctured 33-inch dia rising main had been restored through an alternative pipeline, residents of different affected localities said that they had received water with a very low pressure, only once since rupturing of the pipeline on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, some insiders told Dawn that since repairing of the burst pipeline had not yet been completed, normal water supply to the localities would be further delayed.
The affected localities include Bahadurabad, Sharfabad, Delhi Mercantile Society, Mohammad Ali Society, Bangalore Town, Adamjee Nagar, Al-Hamra Society, Shabbirabad and parts of PECHS Block 6, specially its green-belt area.
After the pipeline burst on Wednesday, the KWSB Managing Director, Brig Asif Ghazali, had directed the engineers concerned to accomplish the task of repairing the pipeline in 48 hours, but contrary to his instructions, the burst pipeline had not yet been repaired even after a lapse of more than 80 hours.
Residents of North Karachi’s Sector 5A/2 complained that whenever their turn of getting water supply came, a considerable quantity of water which started coming out from the surface of earth, near house no L-412, got spread on the adjoining street, causing inconvenience to the passersby.
“Since the issue has been persisting for the last six months, the water which often remain stagnant on the street has not only resulted in choking of nearby gutters but is also damaging a portion of the street,” a resident of the locality added.
REPAIRS BEGIN: The Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) has started repairing the 33-inch dia water rising main, and 12-inch dia sewerage line, which had burst in Gulshan-i-Iqbal on Eid day, adds APP.
A KWSB source on Friday said, the repair work was expected to be completed within next 24 hours, while the affected areas were being supplied water through an alternate line.
KWSB Managing Director Brig Asif Ghazali inspected the damaged water and sewerage lines and directed the concerned staff for early completion of repairs to ensure smooth supply of water and disposal of sewage from the affected areas.
It may be recalled that on the first day of Eid at about 11.30am, cracks started to appeared in the water main line and the leakage started.
However, the KWSB staff immediately stopped supply from the main to check wastage.
The areas affected and provided water through alternative system were: Bahadurabad, Sharafabad, Delhi Mercantile Society, Liquat National Hospital and Aga Khan Hospital.
