Demand to undertake pipeline works on Jalna Road during night hours

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

For the past three months, the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran (MJP) has been laying a new 700 mm diameter water pipeline on Jalna Road. Due to this, traffic movement on the busy road has been severely disrupted throughout the day. Angry citizens are now asking, “Why isn’t this work being carried out at night?” Currently, the work has reached up to the Akashwani signal and will next extend to Vasantrao Naik Chowk, meaning city residents may have to endure this inconvenience for several more months.

Under the ₹2,740 crore new water supply project, efforts are underway to bring an additional 200 MLD of water to the city by November or December. The plan includes laying 1,900 km of new pipelines across the city, of which 1,250 km has been completed so far. At present, the administration is focusing on the main water pipeline before introducing the increased supply. However, citizens have accused authorities of progressing at a very slow pace.

The work of laying the 700 mm pipeline on Jalna Road from Amarpreet Chowk started three months ago and has only reached Akashwani signal. Next, it will continue up to Vasantrao Naik Chowk in Cidco. This has caused massive traffic snarls on one side of Jalna Road. Common citizens and vehicle owners are fed up with the daily jams, which stretch from Mondha Naka to SFS between 10 am and 8 pm. Even though traffic police are present, they have been unable to control the congestion, leaving commuters to struggle through extremely narrow lanes. Citizens are demanding that MJP carry out the work during nighttime to reduce public inconvenience.

Network of cables adds to trouble

The GVPR general manager Mahendra Guguloth said, “ While laying the pipeline on Jalna Road, workers have to navigate around old pipelines already present nearby. In this narrow space, the new line must be fitted, but the area is also entangled with cables belonging to MSEDCL (power supply), internet providers, and BSNL. Excavation has to be done very carefully, and in several places, concerned agencies have to be called in during the digging. Hence it is not possible to do this work at night. There is a high risk of cable damage or pipeline bursts during nocturnal operations.”