Muscat: Muscat residents heaved a sigh relief with the restoration of water supply on Tuesday but the elected Shura Council members have demanded explanation for the pipe burst and subsequent 72 hours that residents spent without water.
The Shura members have decided to summon Mohammad Bin Abdullah Al Mahrooqi, Chairman of the Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW), to discuss the water crisis that hit most of Muscat, especially old suburbs of Muttrah, Muscat, Wadi Kabir, Wattayeh, Ruwi as well as Amerat.
“We need to know the reasons behind the pipe burst and the 72 hours without water supply,” Tawfiq Bin Abdulhussein Al Lawati, Shura member from affected Muttrah area, told Gulf News.
He said that people need to know not only what happened but also what lessons were learnt by the PAEW from the crisis and how to prepare to prevent it in future.
The PAEW Chairman would brief the Executive Board of the Shura Council next week.
Since Saturday, residents have been struggling for water supply and ‘blue water tankers’ have exploited the situation by demanding three to five fold price for a tanker during the last three days. Businesses of several restaurants in the south MBD suffered due to dry taps in the area.
A pipe burst on Saturday in Al Khuwair, damaging the road as well as flooding the surrounding area. Due to difficult location of the pipe burst, the PAWE took almost three days to repair the damaged pipe and on Tuesday morning supply resumed but till late afternoon the water flow was still not at full force, especially at high rise buildings.
“That is expected as pressure increases the flow will normalise for high rise buildings,” a spokesman for the PAWE said.
