2-hrs-long meeting failed to hold responsible for technical errors in waterworks

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

The minister, public representatives, and key officials spent two hours discussing the technical issues in the work for the Paithan to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar road and the main water pipeline for the city’s water supply scheme, both of which were being handled by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran (MJP), on Monday. However, the exact cause of the technical error, including who made the mistake and where it occurred, remains unclear. In the meeting, it was decided that all technical departments would conduct a joint inspection of both the road and pipeline work and submit a report within four days. The municipal commissioner G Sreekanth would lead the technical inspection. Following the issue being highlighted by the newspaper, all concerned departments have been prompted into action to resolve the matter.

Work is underway to lay a new 2500 mm diameter water pipeline alongside the existing 1200 mm pipeline, within an 8-metre distance of the 30-metre wide road between Paithan and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Concerns were raised during the meeting regarding the future maintenance of the water pipeline if it is placed underground beneath the road. The meeting also discussed the technical feasibility of this arrangement. Public representatives reprimanded responsible officials from the MJP and the NHAI over these potential issues related to pipeline maintenance.

Meeting at the district collectorate

A meeting regarding the new city water supply scheme was held at the District Collector's office. It was attended by OBC Welfare Minister Atul Save, MPs Sandipan Bhumare and Dr Kalyan Kale, MLA Anuradha Chavan, MJP's chief engineer Manisha Palande, engineers Deepak Koli, Manoj Pathak, NHAI Project Director Ravindra Ingole, Aniket Kulkarni, Municipal Corporation’s chief engineer A B Deshmukh, engineer Kiran Patil, GVPR Company's G. Mehendar, Khalil Ahmed, and others. District Collector Dilip Swami urged the implementing agencies to work in coordination and complete the project on time. The civic chief G Sreekanth stated that after seven days, the distance of technical inconvenience would be identified.

Unanswered questions of the meeting

If the water pipeline under the road bursts in the future, how will repairs be carried out?

What will be done when vehicles pass over the carriageway?

Did MJP and NHAI consider their interests in their work?

A water pipeline of length 35 km has been laid; how much of it is buried under the road?

Why is the sudden claim being made that there is no technical issue in a 20-km-long stretch?

Is it impossible to go for encasing or constructing duct? What solutions would be considered is still unclear.

Pay the contractor's bill after testing

The OBC Welfare Minister Atul Save said, “Once the road and the water pipeline work are completed, it must be ensured that no road excavation is required to undertake repair and maintenance of the water pipeline. To ensure this, all agencies must conduct a joint technical inspection. The report should be submitted within four days. Efforts should be made to ensure that the first phase of the project, which will supply 200 MLD of water to the city, is completed by March 2025. The contractor's payment should be made only after conducting hydraulic and radiographic tests on the work.”

Plan for the next 50 years...

MP Sandipan Bhumare said, “ This plan has been developed for the next 50 years. Efforts should be made to ensure that the people have access to water, and traffic along the roads leading to Paithan, as well as the villages on the Bidkin and Chitegaon roads, remains smooth.”