Digging deep: 8-foot-deep crater causes traffic jam, sewage enters houses
This is the second pit to appear on Shaheed-e-Millat road in roughly a week
An eight-foot deep crater developed on Shaheed-e-Millat Road near Medicam Chowrangi on Monday night. PHOTO: AYSHA SALEEM/EXPRESS
KARACHI:
If your office is on Sharae Faisal or any of its adjacent roads, chances are you were stuck in traffic on Tuesday morning as an eight-foot-deep crater had developed on the nearby Shaheed-e-Millat Road near Medicam Chowrangi.
The crater developed at the roundabout and led to an overflow from various gutters nearby. Cars were forced to slow down which resulted in a severe traffic jam.
This is the second crater to develop on the same road. Nearly 10 days ago, a similar crater emerged near the Tipu Sultan intersection.
According to residents, the road caves in due to blocked sewage lines. The pit at the Medicam Chowrangi surfaced on Monday night but, according to a shopkeeper, Muhammad Hanif, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) team arrived after 1pm to fix it.
Water wasted: University Road submerged as KWSB pipeline bursts
The newly-constructed Jamaluddin Afghani Road, which joins the TV station to Shaheed-e-Millat Road, was completely inundated with sewage. According to Hanif, the road was constructed two weeks ago without addressing the broken sewage lines underground.
Pointing towards the two-foot-deep sewage through which cars and motorcycles sped splashing at pedestrians, a real estate agent, Iqbal, said the condition of sewers in the area was the same for the last four years. "The situation became worse today when a huge pothole appeared, so the KWSB [finally] realised to clean it up," he said.
Meanwhile, sewage entered houses at CP Barar Society, adjacent to Jamaluddin Afghani Road.
A resident, Aurangzeb, said the whole area reeks of a pungent but foul smell. "The government has destroyed the façade of this city," he said angrily.
Dirty business: Winter brings sewage out on city’s streets
KWSB superintendent engineer for District East, Wajid Siddiqui, said the 27-inch diameter sewers had sunk, due to which an eight-foot-deep and 18-foot-wide pit appeared. He said the lines were 40 to 45 years old and their life has come to an end. "They need to be replaced from Teen Hatti to the Baloch Colony flyover, which requires millions of rupees," he said, adding that they can only repair sunken lines as emergency measures.
He said a large excavator was needed to repair the road, which could only be brought in once the traffic flow reduces, adding that the work will take at least two days. On a question regarding sewage gushing out of the gutters, KWSB assistant engineer for Gulshan Town, Syed Ejaz, said the flow cannot be stopped. "The overflow of sewage water is almost in 12 societies," he said, admitting that residents will have to wait until the sunken line is repaired.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 27th, 2016.
If your office is on Sharae Faisal or any of its adjacent roads, chances are you were stuck in traffic on Tuesday morning as an eight-foot-deep crater had developed on the nearby Shaheed-e-Millat Road near Medicam Chowrangi.
The crater developed at the roundabout and led to an overflow from various gutters nearby. Cars were forced to slow down which resulted in a severe traffic jam.
This is the second crater to develop on the same road. Nearly 10 days ago, a similar crater emerged near the Tipu Sultan intersection.
According to residents, the road caves in due to blocked sewage lines. The pit at the Medicam Chowrangi surfaced on Monday night but, according to a shopkeeper, Muhammad Hanif, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) team arrived after 1pm to fix it.
Water wasted: University Road submerged as KWSB pipeline bursts
The newly-constructed Jamaluddin Afghani Road, which joins the TV station to Shaheed-e-Millat Road, was completely inundated with sewage. According to Hanif, the road was constructed two weeks ago without addressing the broken sewage lines underground.
Pointing towards the two-foot-deep sewage through which cars and motorcycles sped splashing at pedestrians, a real estate agent, Iqbal, said the condition of sewers in the area was the same for the last four years. "The situation became worse today when a huge pothole appeared, so the KWSB [finally] realised to clean it up," he said.
Meanwhile, sewage entered houses at CP Barar Society, adjacent to Jamaluddin Afghani Road.
A resident, Aurangzeb, said the whole area reeks of a pungent but foul smell. "The government has destroyed the façade of this city," he said angrily.
Dirty business: Winter brings sewage out on city’s streets
KWSB superintendent engineer for District East, Wajid Siddiqui, said the 27-inch diameter sewers had sunk, due to which an eight-foot-deep and 18-foot-wide pit appeared. He said the lines were 40 to 45 years old and their life has come to an end. "They need to be replaced from Teen Hatti to the Baloch Colony flyover, which requires millions of rupees," he said, adding that they can only repair sunken lines as emergency measures.
He said a large excavator was needed to repair the road, which could only be brought in once the traffic flow reduces, adding that the work will take at least two days. On a question regarding sewage gushing out of the gutters, KWSB assistant engineer for Gulshan Town, Syed Ejaz, said the flow cannot be stopped. "The overflow of sewage water is almost in 12 societies," he said, admitting that residents will have to wait until the sunken line is repaired.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 27th, 2016.