Five days past, 7-foot wide water mainline not repaired

Five days past, swathes of the metropolis remain deprived of piped water supply after the main water line was broken during excavation for Red Line track.

Thanks to the unskilled machine operators, a seven-foot wide water pipeline was ruptured from two during BRT track works on the University Road.

Besides the mainline, water supply from the government hydrants has been stopped. Locals say that the Red Line BRT project has become a headache. Workers continue to break and rupture utility lines like water, sewerage, gas and optic fibre cables.

KWSC officials said that on Monday, an 84-inch water line in front of the University of Karachi on University Road burst at two places during Red Line construction work, due to which water supply to 60 to 70 per cent of the city was cut off. They said repair work will be completed by Saturday night or Sunday morning.

Residents of various localities told The Express Tribune that they were forced to buy water from tankers at exorbitant rates. The Red Line BRT track being constructed on University Road was going on for over two years now. The dug up main road has made life painful for the people of the densely populated area of Gulshan-e-Iqbal.