Blame passed around for University Road sinkhole

KARACHI: The sinkhole that appeared on University Road on Friday has raised questions about the performance of the Sindh government, the city administration and the engineers involved in the recent renovation of the road.

The affected road was constructed in June 2017 at a cost of Rs884.2 million, as part of the Rs10 billion Karachi Development Package. At the time of its construction, it was claimed that rainwater drains and underground lines have been built to secure the thoroughfare against any damage. Yet a sinkhole appeared on the road after just two and a half years of its construction, due to leakage from a blocked sewerage pipeline.

According to sources, underground utility lines were shifted under footpaths and service roads during prior development works,  to enable the maintenance of the underground lines while keeping the roads intact. Despite the availability of a better strategy, though, the recent construction reportedly did not account for the existing underground lines.

"The engineers of the consultant firm, the government and Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) wasted billions of rupees paid by taxpayers," said Abdul Rehman, the general secretary of Karachi Contractors Association, calling University Road "an example of incompetence and substandard engineering."

When the project manager for the construction, Sami Khan, was asked about the sewerage line passing under University Road near Hassan Square, he said that they had not known the line was there before construction began. He added that the road was handed over to KMC after its construction, and they had held Karachi Water and Sewerage Board responsible for the incident instead of taking responsibility. Khalid Masroor, an engineer working on the project, also said they were only informed about the lines that were repaired prior to the road's construction.

Meanwhile, KMC engineer Shabihul Hassan said KMC would only have been responsible for the incident if it had constructed the road, adding that they did not even have enough funds for the road's repair. On the other hand, KWSB acting managing director Ghulam Qadir Abbas said that the relevant officials have been informed about the presence of the line and provided a map of the underground lines.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 30^th, 2019.