SUKKUR, April 20: The supply of Sui gas to Karachi, Hyderabad, Larkana, Shikarpur, Sukkur, Nawabshah and several cities in the Punjab was affected when the main gas pipeline from Sui to Shikarpur on the Sindh-Balochistan border was damaged by a bomb attack late on Monday night.

Local authorities described it as the latest in a series of attempts by saboteurs to create problems for gas companies and disrupt their operation. The supply to some of the cities in Sindh and Punjab was restored by an alternative line after about five hours of hectic efforts.

The main pipeline was damaged near the village of Hiranpur, about 30 kilometres from Kandhkot in an area bordering the jurisdiction of Risaldar and Bhittai colony police stations.

Reports reaching here said that the huge explosion rocked the entire locality and blew up about 15 feet of the pipeline. It caused a 30-foot ditch in the area. According to officials here, the explosion caused a loss of millions of rupees in leaked gas.

A press release issued by the Sui Southern Gas Company said, the blast occurred at 11.20pm on Monday night, about 1.5 kms from the G-2 valve assembly. Repair teams, the press release said, had been mobilized and the estimated repair time was 36 to 40 hours because the approach was difficult, there being no metalled road and the water table being high.

Rangers personnel were helping the teams by clearing the area of possible landmines and providing access. The SSGC, the press release said, had tightened its own security in the area.

It quoted a company spokesman as saying that frequent incidents of pipelines sabotage needed to be taken cognizance of at the national level. The SSGC, he said, was making all possible efforts to maintain uninterrupted gas supplies to all of its customers.