A major oil pipeline ruptured Friday night during ongoing Red Line construction activities.
KARACHI:
For residents of Gulshan-e-Iqbal and several adjoining neighborhoods, development projects aimed at modernizing the city have become a source of daily hardship. As excavation work continues for the Red Line BRT, the K-IV project and road improvements along University Road, repeated water main breaks have left thousands of people fighting for every drop, exposing a chronic lack of coordination between civic agencies.
Repair work on the 48-inch water transmission line damaged during Red Line construction near the University Road corridor has been completed, officials said Sunday. Water supply through the line is expected to resume between Sunday and Monday night once safety assessments are completed.
The main pipeline broke on Friday night during the ongoing Red Line construction activities, disrupting water supply to several localities including several blocks of Gulshan-e-Iqbal, PIB Colony, Liaquatabad, Nazimabad and Gulberg. According to Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) officials, the damaged section of the pipeline extends for approximately eight feet.
Officials said water has not yet been poured into the pipe because the high pressure within the system could cause more damage if repairs are not properly stabilized. Therefore, additional time is required before normal operations can safely resume.
Even as repairs to the water main were completed, another disruption occurred on Sunday when a six-inch water line was damaged near Hasan Square during construction work on the Red Line. The incident affected water supply to block 13-D/3 of Gulshan-e-Iqbal and Baloch Goth.
The latest damage comes after a series of similar incidents in the same area. Just days earlier, two sections of a 15-inch pipeline were reported to have been damaged during work on the K-IV project.
