The supply of water to Karachi was suspended after a power breakdown at the Dhabeji Pumping Station on Friday.
Almost 13 hours later, the power supply was restored, according to a press statement from the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB).
Dhabeji is the main pumping station maintained by the water and sewerage board. “There was a fire in the grid station of K- Electric (KE) near Dhabeji due to which power was cut off for such long time,” the statement read and added that in the meantime the water supply to the entire city remained halted.
An official of the water board said that over 300 million gallons of water was not supplied to the city because of the power outage and a line burst at the station. “The city is suffering from a severe water shortage because of this,” the official said.
The managing director of the water board, Asadullah Khan, said that the damaged line had been repaired, but the water supply would resume gradually.
According to their press statement, it would take at least 75 to 90 hours to get the water pumps functional at their normal capacity again. The board has asked people to conserve water and not to waste it.
In another statement, the MD said that the city had 56 percent of less supply of water than the demand. “Due to the power breakdown at the Dhabeji pumping station, the city will face 345 million gallons of water shortage more,” he said and added that in such hot weather the entire city would face the effects of the power breakdown.
The KE, on the other hand, said in a press statement that all the major pumping stations of the KWSB, including Dhabeji, had been exempted from loadshedding.
As for the current power breakdown, it said that the electricity supply had been resumed at Dhabeji.
A spokesperson for the KE said that the power utility prioritized the power supply to all KWSB strategic locations, including the pumping stations at Dhabeji, Pipri and Gharo.
According to the spokesperson, the power utility’s maintenance and repair teams were immediately mobilised for a swift restoration of the supply. The teams worked tirelessly while adhering to all safety parameters and ensured timely rectification of the fault.
According to the KE spokesperson, all KWSB major water pumping stations are exempt from loadshedding in the greater interest of the people of Karachi.
In addition to ensuring a seamless power supply to all strategic installations of the KWSB, the KE also extends all possible technical support and maintains close coordination with KWSB teams round the clock, he said.
“The power utility has also deputed a dedicated technical team for priority resolution of any technical issues at KWSB strategic facilities and KE teams also periodically conduct surveys at Dhabeji and other strategic installations of KWSB to ensure KE operations remain seamless.”