Karachi’s water supply has been severely affected after a power outage caused an explosion at the Dhabeji pumping station, resulting in the rupture of two major pipelines.

According to reports, a 72-inch diameter pipeline (No. 5) burst and stopped water supply to several areas of Karachi, Express News reported.

These include Landhi, Korangi, Shah Latif Town, Korangi, Town Ship, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulshan-e-Hadeed and Malir, among others, which are now facing severe water shortage.

The Power Division has taken cognizance of the incident and directed K-Electric to immediately take steps to restore power supply to the pumping station.

A Power Division spokesperson stated that water supply to Karachi must be resumed at all costs, underscoring the need for K-Electric to upgrade the water supply system and prevent such incidents in the future.

On the other hand, a K-Electric spokesperson assured that power supply to all major pumping stations, including Dhabeji, was functioning normally.

The short disruption at the pumping station has already been resolved, and K-Electric’s team is in contact with the Water Board’s representatives to ensure trouble-free operation.

Also, delays in the B-Feeder canal lining work have sparked fears of an impending water crisis in Karachi, while experts warn of further setbacks to the already delayed K-IV water supply project.

According to Express News, the K-IV project, aimed at improving Karachi’s water supply, involves a significant investment of Rs40 billion from both the federal and Sindh governments. The plan is to increase the capacity of the Kalri Baghar feeder, which takes water from the Kotri Barrage.

The project must be completed in 2027 and cover a stretch of 36 kilometers and 190 points of sale. However, work on the feeder was halted for 23 days from December 20 to January 13 by the irrigation department and progress has been much slower than expected.

During this 23-day period, 45 outlets of eight kilometers were expected to be completed, but only 25 outlets (five kilometers) were partially completed. This delay is worrisome, especially considering that the World Bank had set the condition that the capacity of the feeder must be increased before the funding for the K-IV project could be released.

Currently, the B-Feeder canal can discharge 7,600 cusecs of water, but once the project is completed, its capacity is expected to increase to 9,800 cusecs.

Following another demand from the World Bank, the irrigation department has been asked to complete the project by 2026, ahead of the original 2027 deadline, as the project director has requested an additional Rs 14 billion in funding to speed up the work.

In response, the Sindh Chief Minister has written to the federal government to ensure timely funding with the hope that the required amount will be allocated within the next 15 days.

However, experts express dissatisfaction with the slow progress and worry that the project may not be completed on time.

Meanwhile, the appointment of the project director has been challenged in the Sindh High Court, adding to the uncertainty surrounding the timely completion of the project.