QUETTA – Unknown miscreants planted explosives and blasted the 18-inch Shikarpur-Quetta main transmission pipeline supplying gas to Balochistan from Jaffarabad, some 17 km away from Jacobabad on Thursday. However gas is being supplied at low pressure to over 20,000 customers. Baloch Republican Army has claimed responsibility.
After the explosion the police rushed to the site to locate the damaged part of the pipeline. In the last few days, Baloch Republican Army has blown up pipelines in gas fields like Sui, Loti and Uchh, Dera Bugti agency.
In another incident unknown persons exploded the 8-inch pipeline connecting gas well and main junction line in Uchh gas field because of which the supply was suspended.
According to spokesman of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) Anayatullah Ismail the terrorists had exploded the main transmission pipeline at around 2:00 AM between Jhat Pat and Jacobabad, some 17 KM away from Jacobabad. He said that the special teams had rushed to the site, but the repair work could not start for a day because the damaged parts could not be found in the marsh created by floodwaters, adding that heavy machinery and three to four days were needed to repair the damage and the store of gas was running out. He said gas was currently being supplied to around 2 lac consumers of nine districts including Naseerabad, Jaffarabad, Sibi, Bolan, Quetta, Mastung, Kalat, Pishin and Ziarat, on low pressure.
