27 October 2004	Wednesday	12 Ramazan 1425

KARACHI, Oct 26: The 72-inch-dia main line of Hub pumping station, which was damaged on Monday resulting in 30 million gallon water shortfall and complete stoppage of supply to all sprawling townships hooked to Hub dam source, was repaired on Tuesday.

Attributing the cause of burst to the sudden power breakdown at Hub pumping station on Monday morning, a spokesman for the KWSB said that the pipeline had been repaired. He said that with the completion of repair works, the water supply position in all the localities hooked to Hub dam source would be normalized by Wednesday.

KWSB Managing Director Brig Iftikhar Haider visited the Hub pumping station on Tuesday and inspected the repairing work of the burst pipeline.

He appreciated the engineers and other staff, involved in the repairing work, for accomplishing the task ahead of its schedule.

The localities which remained deprived of water on Monday and Tuesday included Orangi Town, Baldia Town, Site (both residential and industrial areas), North Karachi and Shershah.

Besides, various other parts of the city on Tuesday either went without water or received scant supply owing to Monday's major power breakdown at Gharo, Dhabeji and Pipri pumping stations, which had caused 70mgd water shortfall.

The affected areas, which remained in grip of water shortage on Tuesday, included Landhi, Korangi, Malir, Khokarapar, Shah Faisal Colony, and its adjoining localities.

The KWSB spokesman said that pumping of water to various areas from Dhabeji pumping station remained suspended on Tuesday too due an hour-long power failure at the station's phase-II.

Taking undue advantage of the water crisis, private water tankers did a roaring business in the water-starved localities while the KWSB hydrants being manned by Rangers were unable to cope with the requirement of the affected areas.

Meanwhile, Gulshan-i-Iqbal's blocks 13-D, 13-D/1, 2 and Lyari's D.D. Chaudhry Road also remained in the grip of acute water shortage on Tuesday.

Office-bearers of the Mohallah Committee of the Lyari's affected locality said that although they had written over two dozen complaints to almost every senior officer of the KWSB, none of them had taken any measure to restore the supply in a major part of Baghdadi's Union Council No 5 which had been without water for the last three months.

According to them, the hard-hit areas and apartment buildings include D.D. Chaudhry Road, Bismillah Colony, Bhutto House, Baitul Hashim, Zeeshan Arcade, Haji Saleh Building, Yaqoob Sunara Building, Irshad Manzil, Naz Chambers, Haji Gul Hasan House and those residing in the vicinity of Lyari Telephone Exchange.