Millions of gallons go waste

Millions of gallons of supply water go waste since Tuesday afternoon when a major pipe burst at Russell Square in the capital's Dhanmondi. As per Dhaka Wasa officials, the repairs should have been over by 10:00pm yesterday. The photo was taken around 1:00pm yesterday. Photo: SK Enamul Haq

Hundreds of homes in Kalabagan and adjoining areas went without water while millions of gallons went to waste since Tuesday afternoon when a major pipe burst at Russell Square in the capital's Dhanmondi.
With Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) unable to stop the flow for having no record of the pipe's valve's location, the crack continued to spill water out and into the adjoining Dhanmondi lake till last night.
Dhaka Wasa (zone-3) Executive Engineer Nurul Islam said the repairs would be complete by around 10:00pm yesterday.
Labourers around 11:00am yesterday were seen trying to pinpoint the affected portion of the 18-inch pipe, running from Syedabad and a part of the capital's water supply network.
The pipe, installed in the mid-80s, burst due to pressure, said Anwar Hossain, Dhaka Wasa's Pipe Line Inspector from Lalmatia office, while overseeing the repairs.
He said there was one valve on Mirpur Road, near Kalabagan, but its position was lost under the tarmac layers laid over the years.