Water supply disrupted: pipeline still down after 4 days

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

Many neighbourhoods in the city are still receiving water only every eight to ten days. One of the three main pipelines that supply water to the city has been out of service for the past four days. Despite the severe water shortage, the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran (MJP) has not yet undertaken repairs on the 900-mm diameter pipeline. Notably, no water was supplied from this pipeline on Tuesday as well.

The city’s water supply relies on three pipelines of 700 mm, 1200 mm, and 900 mm diameters. Last week, an electrical malfunction caused a seven-hour shutdown of these pipelines, disrupting the water supply. On Saturday at 9 am, a joint on the new 900-mm diameter pipeline at Dhorkin broke. Initially, MJP officials cited the rain as a reason for not carrying out repairs on the first day. Despite no rain on Sunday, repairs were still not initiated. Repair work began on Monday morning, but the entire day was consumed in this process. It was hoped that the pipeline would be operational by Tuesday.

Expected to resume by midnight

The reason given for the delay was that the joint, where it broke, needs to be cemented and allowed to be set for 10 hours. As of Tuesday evening, the pipeline had not yet been repaired. According to MJP's Executive Engineer Deepak Koli, the pipeline is expected to be operational by Wednesday midnight.

200 MLD water shortage

A 900-mm diameter pipeline was installed to ensure a steady water supply to the city. Currently, this pipeline supplies 20 MLD of water. With the pipeline down since Saturday, the city is facing a daily shortage of 20 MLD.