GUJRAT: The careless digging for laying a sewerage pipeline has badly damaged the underground network of water supply, telephone and internet services in a thickly populated locality of the city along the west Circular Road.

The digging has become a headache for the local traders and residents of adjoining localities who blame the authorities concerned for causing damage to commercial, as well as residential buildings by executing the scheme in an unprofessional way.

The sewerage pipeline is being laid by the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) along the Circular Road from Fawara Chowk to Prince Chowk.

According to locals, the water supply pipeline was damaged during the digging by heavy machinery for two consecutive days (Monday and Tuesday), resulting in accumulation of water in the locality and causing contamination of potable water.

Residents deplore apathy of PHED, admin officials

The water accumulated along the road is also a cause of concern for the owners of commercial buildings.

Ahmed Iqbal Butt, a resident of Shah Hussain locality, regretted that none of the officials of PHED or the local administration bothered to take precautionary measures before starting the digging to save the commercial and residential properties in the area.

Advocate Gul Nawaz, a resident of Circular Road, says that before execution of the scheme, he along with some other residents of the area, including some senior lawyers, had met with the executive engineer and other officials of PHED to persuade them to ensure safety of properties by taking precautionary measures while digging the road, but to no avail.

He said that earlier the telephone and internet services in the area remained suspended for many days due to the damage caused to the underground network because of the reckless digging. As these services got restored after hectic efforts by locals, the water supply pipeline got damaged at several points, he deplored.

Nawaz regretted that both the district administration and the civic authorities had been oblivious to the problems being faced by the public at large and warned of resorting to protest if the situation persisted.

The west Circular Road is one of the busiest and most congested areas of the city, also housing some educational institutions.

A senior administrative officer, when asked about the issue, tried to play it down by saying, “Such issues often surface during the laying of sewerage lines in congested areas and the people should bear the difficulties to get the poor sewerage system rectified in the city as the concerned authorities had been directed to resolve the issue”.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2022