KARACHI, Oct 24: The city’s water supply situation will further aggravate for two days as there will be a shortfall of 100 million gallons on Friday and a further 70 million gallons on Saturday from two major pumping stations of Indus source.

In addition, pumping of water to the tune of 25 million gallons per day to the city from single-fuel engine of Dhabeji’s (1st phase) pumping station stopped at 5.45pm on Thursday following decrease in gas pressure.

The KWSB’s superintending engineer (Electrical/Mechanical), Gulzar Memon, told Dawn that although the KWSB had repeatedly complained to the Sui Southern Gas Company about the dual-fuel engines at Dhabeji (1st phase) pumping station receiving gas with very low pressure for several days, no action had been taken by the company to rectify the problem. As such, he added, the KWSB was left with no option but to stop pumping from the single-fuel engine.

The official feared that the city will continue to receive water in short supply up to 25 mgd till the gas pressure at Dhabeji station was improved to a satisfactory level. The station, set up in 1959-60, is equipped with five dual-fuel engines, he pointed out.

Meanwhile, the KWSB has decided to apply an 18-hour closure at Dhabeji pumping station on Friday (Oct 25) for the replacement of its sluice and non-returning valves and another 18-hour closure at North-East Karachi (K-2) pumping station for the installation of transformer.

Both the closures would cause a total shortfall of 170 mgd i.e. 100 mgd from Dhabeji pumping station on Friday and 70 mgd from NEK (K-2) pumping station on Saturday, sources said. Such a big shortfall would not only affect badly the overall water supply to the city but also render ineffective the KWSB’s current plan of diverting Indus water to the sprawling townships of former district-West by suspending weekly supply to the areas fed from the Indus source, they added.

The sources further apprehended that both the closures, coupled with the shortfall of 25 mgd from single-fuel engine at Dhabeji, would create a crisis in almost the entire city in the next few days.

AFFECTED AREAS: There would be no water supply on Friday to Landhi, Korangi, Defence Housing Authority, National Refinery, Karachi Port Trust, Pakistan Railways, PAF (Korangi) Base, Malir Town and Civil Aviation Authority, Quaid-i-Azam International Airport, Model Colony and its adjoining areas besides some other localities.