CM Sindh orders KDA to speed up Karimabad underpass work

KARACHI: Chief Minister Sindh, Murad Ali Shah, on Sunday visited the Karimabad Underpass to review the progress of the construction work on the project, ARY News reported.

The Sindh CM directed the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) to speed up work on the underpass, instructing the concerned officers to complete the project within the stipulated time.

He stated that any further delay in the project will not be tolerated.

In his briefing to the CM, Local Bodies Minister Nasir Hussain Shah informed him that the project’s cost is a whopping Rs $3.810$ billion.

Murad Ali Shah said that the flow of traffic will be substantially improved with the completion of the project.

He added that providing all basic facilities to the citizens is the government’s priority.

The Sindh government has faced criticism over the project’s delay, which has brought business activity in the area to a standstill.

Karachi Mayor, Murtaza Wahab, had earlier this year given a deadline to complete the project in September.

However, the deadline could not be met, and the project is still under construction.

Earlier, Karachi may face a shortage of 100 million gallons of water per day (MGD) after a power breakdown at the Dhabeji pumping station disrupted a key pipeline, the Karachi Water & Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) said in a statement on Sunday.

According to KWSC, the breakdown occurred in Phase 2 of the Dhabeji pumping station, resulting in the shutdown of two pumps and damage to Line No. 5 of the water supply system.

A KWSC spokesperson said the power failure—caused by K-Electric—could create a shortage of 100 MGD in Karachi. Repair work on the affected pipeline near Thatta is underway on an emergency basis, the spokesperson added.

This marks the second power breakdown at Dhabeji within days. On the night of November 13, a similar breakdown caused a shortfall of 40 MGD in the city’s water supply. That outage was attributed to a cable fault, which had shut down two major pumps at the K-3 pump house.

Meanwhile, K-Electric (KE) issued a statement clarifying that alternative power sources are currently supplying electricity to the Dhabeji pumping station. However, water seepage from pipelines is creating difficulties for repair crews and damaging underground cables. KE said the issue of water leakage has been formally reported to the relevant authorities.