Cleaning work under way at Hub Dam, says KWSB chief

Efforts are afoot to clean the Hub Dam canal and the wild foliage including grass and shrubs that had sprouted after the recent rain spell are being removed to ensure smooth supply of water to the city, water board chief Hashim Raza Zaidi told The News on Monday.

The Karachi Water and Sewerage Board’s (KWSB) managing director said the requisite machinery had been moved to the site but maintained that the entire cleaning process would take time as workers would be clearing an area of around 10 kilometres. 

He said due to the rainfall, the water level at the Hub Dam had increased from 276 feet to 282.9 feet and the water supply through the dam would now increase to 50 millions of gallons per day (mgd). But the city was still being supplied 650 mgd against the demand of 1100 mgd, he deplored.

He said the KWSB was facing serious problems because of power supply interruption and voltage fluctuation. “Big pumping stations and pumps get out of order because of interrupted power supply.”

Zaidi hoped that after the completion of first phase of the K-IV bulk water supply project, the water supply situation would improve in the city.  When asked about the water theft, he said it was a serious issue for which efforts were being made. “But we need a big force to catch these thieves.”

To a query about the cleaning of nullahs in the city, Zaidi said the biggest hurdle in this regard was illegal settlements built on nullahs. “It has become an uphill task because of the people who live in these illegal settlements and don’t let our staff and machineries reach the sites to raze their houses.”