DADU, March 16: Three teams of the Sui Southern Gas Company have arrived at Johi Canal and Sim Nala to repair a pipeline damaged by three explosions on Monday night.

The chief engineer, transmission line, SSGC, Manzoor Ahmad Shaikh, is overseeing the repair work at Johi Canal and the deputy chief engineer, maintenance, Waqar Ali, and acting deputy manager, A. K. Durrani, are supervising the work at Sim Nala.

Watchman Ali Bux told this correspondent here on Tuesday that two bombs had exploded at Sim Nala in 10 minutes after which he informed officials of the southern gas transmission station, Dadu.

He said the officials stopped gas supply to the line after the blasts. Mr Durani said after explosions at Sim Nala, gas supply to Karachi and Hyderabad was started through an alternate pipeline. He said the explosions had not occurred due to technical faults.

Mr Shaikh said the pipeline supplied 600 to 650 square cubic feet gas to the country. He said after the incident the supply was started through a parallel 16-inch pipeline. He said the repair work would be completed in 48 hours.

He said parts of the damaged pipeline would be taken for laboratory tests to as certain what material was used in the explosions. The explosions had destroyed one side of the Johi Canal and resulted into a deep ditch.

Irrigation officials and residents of Sita Road town are trying to repair the damaged part of the Johi Canal. Talking to journalists at the canal, People's Party Parliamentarians Central Committee member Qambar Ali Khan Leghari said heavy explosion had damaged the pipeline and the canal.

He said after the incident he had called 400 farmers and started the repair of the canal. He said the Dadu DPO was responsible to maintain the law and order but he was denying bomb explosions at the pipeline to hide his failure. The gas company and agencies were of the view that bombs had been exploded by some terrorists, he added.

Meanwhile, a bomb disposal squad visited places of incidents and took material for investigation. An engineer at the SSGC, Dadu office, Irshad Ahmad Leghari, said gas supply to Karachi, Hyderabad and other parts of the province had been restored. However, supply to Jhangara Bajara, Sehwan and other parts of the Dadu district had not restored.