• KWSC chief says BRT Red Line workers damaged water main on University Road during digging
• Says repair work to be completed ‘within 72 hours’
• Supply to Clifton, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Jamshed town and old city areas will remain suspended for five more days

KARACHI: Most city areas will have to wait for at least five days to get the water supply restored as yet another leakage has developed in the main line crossing the alignment of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Red Line project on main University Road near Karachi University.

The localities are facing suspension of water supply for the past many days after the same 84-inch main had ruptured earlier this month.

The Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation said that the repair work on the damaged portion of the main line would start on Monday (today) and complete by Wednesday.

Residents of the affected areas that included Clifton, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, parts of in Jamshed Town, PECHS, SMCHS, Lyari, Saddar, Burns Road, Liaquatabad and old city areas, said that they had been without a drop of tap water for the past two weeks.

The city has remained short of 150 million gallons per day (MGD) of water for the past two weeks after the main line burst that flooded the main road near Karachi University.

It has also caused a great deal of hardship to commuters and motorists who remained stuck in the traffic jam for hours.

The water utility had set a 72-hour deadline for the repair work, but it took them to complete the work one whole week as the main line was found burst in another nearby section, delaying the timely restoration of the water supply.

However, only two days after the water supply was restored, the pipe was again found leaked at a nearby distance and the water utility had to suspend the supply for repair till Wednesday.

KWSC Chief Executive Officer Salahuddin Ahmed, who visited the site of the damaged line on Sunday evening, said that the repair work would be completed by Wednesday and water supply would be restored to the affected areas.

Speaking to journalists, he said that the repair work was carried out on an emergency basis and the water utility would try its best to complete the work within the stipulated time.

The water utility said that the 84-inch main had been damaged several times in the past during the construction and digging work by the BRT workers.

They said that the water utility had held several meetings with the BRT authorities in this regard, but in vain.

KWSC seeks damages from TransKarachi

KWSC CEO Salahuddin has written a letter to TransKarachi, the company responsible for BRT Red Line project, and asked it to deposit Rs35 million in favour of the water utility as expenses incurred during the repairs.

He said that sections of the main ruptured due to negligent behaviour of BRT Red Line contractor during the piling work.

He said that the KWSC had repaired two sections of the main on emergent basis.

“However, soon after the opening of water flow, another leakage emerged causing damage to the main university road and yet again it needs to be repaired.”

The sources said that the KWSC had already given the whole plan of its underground infrastructure, including water mains and sewerage lines, on the route of the BRT, but still the pipe lines had damaged in digging and construction of the BRT track.

Sources in the TransKarachi said that an inquiry had been ordered to ascertain the causes of damage caused by the workers of the contractor and further course of action would be taken after the inquiry report.

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2024