Halt in water supply: Pipeline bursts due to power breakdown

KARACHI: For the second time in the last 20 days, another pipeline at the Dhabjei pumping station burst from two places after a ‘sudden power breakdown’.

The incident occurred at 10:40pm on Friday night when one of the ten 72-inch diametre pipes burst because of the pressure created from the reverse flow of water after the power breakdown, claimed Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) bulk water supply chief Zafar Palijo.

He also mentioned that the power at the pumping station resumed after an hour and with that the supply from the remaining nine lines also resumed. The one faulty line will be repaired by Tuesday, he informed.

On the other hand, a KWSB spokesperson also criticised K-Electric (KE) claiming that the citizens of Karachi have to bear the mess created by the power utility and KWSB continues to bear the loss in terms of continuous repairing of its line.

Meanwhile, KE’s communications director Sadia Dada told The Express Tribune the fault was repaired in an hour. She explained that as KE has exempted the pumping station from load-shedding, the incident occurred after a minor tripping in the system.

On August 17, supply from the pumping station was halted after a KE grid station caught fire.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 4^th, 2016.