Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Saturday took notice of a persisting water shortage in different parts of Karachi and directed the Karachi Water & Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) to restore a normal supply at the earliest and submit a detailed report to him regarding the disruption and remedial measures being undertaken.
Officials said that following the directives of the chief minister, CEO Water Board Ahmed Ali Siddiqui briefed him on the situation and informed that the disruption in the water supply was caused mainly due to two major issues. He said a power jerk from K-Electric resulted in the bursting of the 72-inch Rising Main-5 at Dhabeji Pumping Station, while partial supply through the FTM line was also suspended because of ongoing Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) development works.
According to the KWSC CEO, the power breakdown occurred during the intervening night of May 20 and 21 at the Dhabeji Pumping Station, causing two pumps to shut down. The sudden pressure fluctuation in the system damaged the 72-inch diameter Line No. 5 at three different locations, leading to suspension of water supply through the affected line.
The CEO said the disruption could result in a shortfall of around 48 million gallons per day (MGDs) of water supply to Karachi. Emergency repair work was immediately initiated on the damaged sections of the pipeline to restore supply on a priority basis.
Ahmed Ali Siddiqui informed the chief minister that repair works on both the damaged Rising Main and the FTM line had now been completed successfully.
“Alhamdulillah, both issues have been resolved. InshaAllah, the lines will be recharged by midnight, after which it may take approximately another 17 hours for water supply across the city to fully normalise,” he told the chief minister.
Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah directed the KWSC CEO to ensure uninterrupted repair and restoration operations and instructed him to keep the public informed regarding the progress of water supply restoration. He also emphasised the need for adopting preventive measures to avoid recurrence of such incidents in future.
The water corporation has appealed to the citizens to use water carefully until the supply system is fully normalized across Karachi.
