Gas supply was interrupted in several Karachi neighbourhoods on Saturday, October 17, after excavation for the Red Line bus rapid transit project damaged a high-pressure pipeline on University Road. Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) said repairs were completed the same afternoon and service was restored, although some residents reported continuing low pressure.
The pipeline was damaged at approximately 1pm near the Gulshan-i-Iqbal telephone exchange, according to an SSGC spokesperson quoted by Dawn. The company said repair teams attended the site and completed work by around 5pm.
The interruption affected parts of Gulshan-i-Iqbal, the area around Mazar-i-Quaid, Garden, Saddar and Burns Road, among other localities. The outage coincided with lunchtime cooking, creating problems for households and food businesses.
While SSGC said gas supply had been restored after the repairs, some consumers reported weak pressure afterwards. The distinction is important: an announcement that the damaged pipeline has been repaired does not necessarily mean every connected household immediately experiences normal pressure.
The incident also highlights the disruption that utility damage can cause during major transport construction. Excavation near buried gas infrastructure requires coordination among contractors and utility operators, although the available report does not establish which party was responsible for the damage or whether any safety procedures were breached.
Residents experiencing continued disruption should seek the latest service information directly from SSGC. Pakistan Report has not independently confirmed a neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood restoration schedule, and this article should not be read as a claim that gas remains suspended across Karachi.
Sources and attribution
- https://www.dawn.com/news/2037943/digging-for-red-line-damages-gas-pipeline-disrupts-supply-in-karachi