Water woes: Pipeline bursts for the tenth time in a week

Old Sukkur residents cut off from water supply.

SUKKUR:

The main pipeline supplying water to several areas of Old Sukkur and New Pind burst for the tenth time in eight days on Friday.

Several neighbourhoods, including Old Sukkur, Qureshi Road, Baban Shah Colony, Numaish Road, Nusrat Colony-5 and New Pind, were affected when the 16-inch wide pipeline burst with a loud explosion near Bakhar Chowk.

Even though, a large pool of water has collected in the area, residents are not receiving any in their taps. The same line had exploded near Thermal Colony last week.

North Sindh Urban Services Corporation director Abid Hussain told The Express Tribune that the main pipeline supplying water to Old Sukkur and other areas was laid in 1974 and has worn out completely. Given the large number of complaints, he said that, “we have enhanced the pressure of water but the pipeline is unable to sustain that much pressure”.

According to Hussain, there was a project to replace old pipelines with black steel pipes to end this problem once and for all but the work could not be completed because of a shortage of money. “We repair the pipeline but it bursts at another place,” he said, suggesting that the entire infrastructure should be replaced altogether.

“We don’t have a genie’s lamp to overcome the problem overnight but we are trying our best,” he assured. Hussain was hopeful that the residents of Sukkur will receive water according to international standards by 2013.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18^th, 2011.