CM orders replacement of sewerage lines in old city areas

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, taking serious notice of the collapse of a 66-inch sewerage line in diametre on Club Road, has directed the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) to reconstruct all old lines in the vicinity and prepare a plan for replacing all old sewerage lines with new ones.

The 66-inch dia sewerage line laid in 1956 on Club Road collapsed on Monday morning and a truck fell into it. As a result, all gutters linked to the line in the Saddar area started overflowing.

The chief minister directed the water board to repair the damaged portion of the line within 24 hours. He also told the minister for local government to replace all old lines from Club Road, Ghazarfar Al Khan Road upto to the Clifton pumping station (Bument Road).

Shah issued directives to the water board’s managing director to prepare a detailed scheme for replacing all the old sewerage lines with new ones in old city areas. He said that last time a 66-inch-dia sewerage line had collapsed on Dr Ziauddin Road near the CM House and it took a number of days to rebuild it. Now a line had sunk on Club Road and would again cause serious problems for the smooth flow of traffic, he said and added that new lines may be laid to improve the system.

Meanwhile, the chief minister sought a report from the secretary of local government about the repair of refuse vehicles by district municipal corporations (DMCs). He said that the government had already released Rs88 million to three DMCs -- Korangi, West and Central -and District Council on October 14, 2019.