Water crisis aggravated in East and Central districts as line bursts in KU

Water could not be supplied to various areas of District East and District Central of the city on Saturday after the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board’s (KWSB) main 66-inch-diameter line burst inside the University of Karachi on Friday.

The misery of residents of District Central and District East, who are already facing acute water shortage, aggravated due to the damaged line.

Water gushing out from the line occupied a large portion of University Road, causing a traffic jam for hours.

KWSB Managing Director Asadullah Khan issued directives for an immediate repair of the line. According to details shared by the water board, the water line was damaged after water was released in the line with pressure so that water scarcity in District Central could be addressed.

As a result of the high pressure, the 66-inch-diameter line was damaged on Friday inside the University of Karachi. In a press statement, the KWSB said the line is more than 50-year-old, which goes to District Central through the University of Karachi.

It was, however, not the first time that the line developed cracks. “The point where the water line burst was already welded a few years back,” said an official of the KWSB, Hassan Rizvi, in a video statement released to the media.

Following the incident, water supply was completely stopped to District Central and various other areas of the city and the water board chief requested the citizens to use water prudently as the supply might remain halted until the damage was repaired.

In the meantime, Sindh Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah visited the university on Saturday to monitor the repair work. He directed KWSB officials to speed up the repair work so that the water supply to the city could be resumed.

He said the repair should be completed by Saturday night or Sunday morning. “Citizens are facing immense problems during hot weather,” he said.

The local government minister also toured University Road from Nipa towards Mosamyat and Safoora Chowrangi.

Meanwhile, residents complained that they were already receiving very less amount of water from the water board and now because of the damaged line, water supply had been completely stopped. A resident of Gulshan-e-Iqbal said he had not received proper water for the past many days. “Now after the water line developed cracks, there isn’t any water supply to our area,” he added.

Another resident of Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Ali, lamented he had a wedding ceremony at his home and they were expecting water supply on Friday night as it was scheduled then. “There wasn’t a drop of water that we received from the KWSB,” he said, adding that they were also unable to get water tankers as well. “We don’t know why we pay bills to the KWSB and other utility agencies when we aren’t getting any service,” he remarked.

The situation in District Central was worse. A resident of North Karachi, Hasban, complained how they had not been receiving water from the KWSB’s infrastructure since Ramazan. “We have to get our water tanks filled by water tankers after paying a heavy amount to them. It is how it has been since the last many months,” he maintained, adding that to his house, it did not matter if the water line inside the University of Karachi was repaired or not as they would not be getting any water either way.

A protest was held in District Korangi’s Zaman Town against the KWSB on Saturday morning. Residents of Zaman Town took to the streets and blocked traffic for hours around Singer Chowrangi and demanded that the water supply to their town be immediately resumed. It had been three months, the residents complained, the KWSB did not release any water to them. The residents chanted slogans against the water board and the Sindh government.