By: Nomfundo Mlaba

Business owners of Dr Yusuf Dadoo Street, formely known as Grey Street, are devastated after having to close their shops not even half-way through the day.

This followed after a main pipe burst and flooded the street. The street was closed between Alice and Carlisle Streets. Eye witnesses said that it caught them by surprise.

Family Supermarket owner Abdul Ali was troubled by this pipe-burst. “Today I lost out on at least R300 profit. People could not cross over to my shop as this filthy water flooded the whole street,” said Ali.

The last pipe-burst on this street was back in 2007. Even though no-one was injured, nearby residents were unhappy of the unhygienic condition. Others insisted that this would have not happened on any other street. They said that the pipes burst because Grey Street is not properly maintained as it is regarded as one of the “dodgiest” streets in town.

Other business owners were happy that no permanent damage was done. Shuaib Parbhoo, a tuck shop owner on the street, described their plight as unfortunate. “It is bad that we lost out on business but we are lucky that no-one got hurt,” he said.

Residents said that even though they were glad that the water was ordourless, they still hoped that the pipe burst will be attended to quickly.

Metro police officials said that “pipe-bursting” incidences are now common, especially in areas surrounding Durban.

It is still unknown what caused the pipe to burst. Municipality officials were unavailable for comment.