December 19, 2008	Friday	Zilhaj 20, 1429

KARACHI, Dec 18: Normal life on Thursday remained suspended in Korangi 41-B and its adjoining streets following the bursting of an oil pipeline in the densely populated area on Wednesday evening.

The pipeline, belonging to the Pak Arab Refinery Limited (Parco), was damaged by staff of the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC).

A visit to the area showed that residents are seeking compensation from the government for the damage to their property. Some residents were critical of the government.

It appeared that residents were set to spend another sleepless night without basic civic amenities, which have been disconnected for the duration of repair work. Some residents of Korangi 41-B were retrieving their belongings and cleaning the crude oil from their homes and businesses in the aftermath of the ‘oil rain’, which lasted over three hours on Wednesday night. Ankle-deep pools of oil remain in some places. Almost all of the homes and businesses exposed to the crude oil in the area remain covered with it.

Though the stench of crude oil has now subsided to a certain extent, its after-effect continues to be felt in the oil-soaked houses. Water tanks, be they underground or overhead, have been damaged in some places, depriving locals of drinking water.

“We have collected water in a few drums for our basic needs. Water was supplied to the area through tanks by the town administration,” said a resident.

Scavengers and oil collectors were busy retrieving oil from the main sewerage passing parallel to the Parco line. The main sewerage remains inundated with crude oil, a fact which was exploited by oil collectors.

‘We heard a light bang’

“It was around 6pm on Wednesday evening when we heard a light bang and soon after it was raining oil, as it gushed out the from the pipe gaining a height of 50 to 60 feet,” said a milk shop owner.

Naseem Ahmed, an area resident, said that SSGC personnel were working in the area and mistakenly hit the wrong pipe.

“I worked all night to save my shop from the raining oil, but have suffered dearly. All my items, such as eggs and bread, were spoiled,” said Muhammad Saeed, another milk shop owner.

Despite having faced the worst of the exposure, Mr Saeed managed to clean up the white grill outside his shop, making it conspicuous by it’s cleanliness in the oil-drenched locality.

Mr Saeed complained that the authorities did not offer him any help, “not even a biryani packet.”

Located next to the milk shop, a private school was forced to declare a closure of 10 days, as it was in no shape to open. Both the interior and exterior of the higher secondary school have been spoiled, with an administrator saying staff will use the 10 days to clean the building.

Residential area affected

The residential area adjacent to the commercial area was also not in good condition. What little vegetation was normally visible was covered by oil, while the town administration had dumped sand across the area in order to reduce the chances of fire.

“If the leak had not been plugged by 9pm, the entire neighbourhood would have been forced to abandon their houses due to the unbearable stench of oil. We shifted the womenfolk to our relatives and all male members remained here,” said Muhammad Ahmed, a resident.

Mr Ahmed was on duty when his family called him, informing him of the situation. He said his family members initially suspected the oil was leaking from a nearby petrol station.

“We started to develop sore throats due to the stench of the crude oil, but up until Thursday evening, no proper treatment or medicine was handed out to us,” said Mr Ahmed.

He remarked that all that residents have witnessed has been the token distribution of boxes of biryani amongst residents and labourers.

A resident of an adjacent hillock showed his oil-stained clothes to Dawn, saying that even at that distance, the oil was raining down upon citizens.

Area residents said an elderly resident had developed breathing problems on Wednesday night, and had to be taken to the nearby Chinot Hospital, where he was provided with oxygen.

Despite a general feeling of gloom, a few residents were busy cleaning up their houses, apparently eager to simply get on with their lives.

Both power and gas supplies to the area were not restored as of Thursday evening.

FIR filed

Police registered an FIR 460/2008 on the compliant of Mehmood Husain Baloch, an employee of the Korangi Town Administration, CDGK, against unknown employees of the SSGC.

The FIR was registered under Sections 431, 283 and 278 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The area DSP said that no arrest had so far been made.