KMC's bid to replace waterline leaves Karachi residents without water

'Model road' initiative turns into nuisance due to lack of strategy

KARACHI:

The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation has started converting Rashid Minhas Road into a 'model road' without a proper strategy, disrupting water supply to several blocks of Gulshan-e-Iqbal.

According to sources, KMC's Engineering Department has taken up the work of replacing a 24-inch water line from Nipa Chowrangi to Gulshan Chowrangi instead of the Karachi Water Corporation. During the work, an 8-inch line was damaged, prompting the Water Corporation to shut supply through the 24-inch main. As a result, water supply has been suspended in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Blocks 1, 2, 4, 5, 13-D and adjoining areas.

The project also forced the closure of the road from Nipa Chowrangi to Gulshan Chowrangi after work on the 2,200-ring feeder began, causing severe traffic problems for commuters.

Sources said the 24-inch line replacement is moving slowly. Water Corporation officials were told the work would be completed in a few days, but sources now estimate it may take up to a month.

They said water and sewerage line replacement is normally the Water Corporation's mandate, but KMC's Engineering Department is carrying it out as part of its model road plan.