Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
A major water pipeline with a diameter of 1200 mm, which supplies drinking water to the city, was severely damaged near Chitegaon at 9.45 am on Wednesday after being hit by a JCB machine. As a result, the pipeline burst. Repair work began at 4 pm and was completed by 9 pm, after which water supply to the city resumed. Due to the disruption in supply for 12 hours, the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC) had to postpone the entire city’s water distribution by a day.
Digging work was being carried out at Chitegaon by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for road construction. The pipeline runs along the side of the road and was struck forcefully, causing it to burst. Water started gushing into the air like a fountain, halting traffic and flooding the area. As soon as the incident was reported, the water supply was shut off. The NHAI was instructed to complete the repair work. Until the afternoon, efforts were ongoing to clear the water and mud from the area. Repair work officially began at 4 pm. Officers and staff from the CSMC’s water supply section remained on site to provide necessary materials and support for the repair.
Since the main pipeline was shut, the water supply section also shut down two other pipelines of 700 mm and 900 mm diameter in the afternoon. Maintenance work was carried out to fix minor and major leaks on those lines. From 10 am to 9 pm, not a single drop of water was supplied to the city. All overhead water tanks were emptied. Once these tanks were refilled at night, water was supplied on a priority basis to those residential areas that couldn’t be served on Wednesday, according to CSMC executive engineer (water supply) Kiran Dande.
Areas that were scheduled to receive water on Thursday will now get it on Friday. There was no alternative but to postpone the water supply by a day, he added.
Pipeline burst four times
On Paithan Road, ongoing work by the NHAI has previously caused the pipeline to burst four times due to accidental hits by JCB machines. Each time, the repairs were carried out by the same office.