Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
The municipal corporation has been unable to locate the exact spot where the water pipeline has burst near Jalna Road, opposite the Kranti Chowk overhead water tank, for the past one and a half months. On Thursday, excavation work was started to locate the burst pipeline, which resulted in a complete traffic halt on Jalna Road. Long queues of vehicles were seen as traffic came to a standstill. While the city was already facing a water shortage, the traffic jam added to the frustration of the citizens. The traffic was blocked from Mondha Naka flyover, Amarpreet Chowk to Kranti Chowk.
A 1200 mm diameter water pipeline that supplies water to the city runs along Jalna Road. A 400 mm diameter water pipeline is connected to this main pipeline. Both these pipelines are 35 years old and have deteriorated, causing frequent bursts.
Due to the pipeline burst in front of the Kranti Chowk tank, water was flowing on the road, prompting the municipal corporation to begin repair work about one and a half months ago. On Thursday, excavation work started with the help of JCB and breakers. Despite digging 10 to 15 feet deep throughout the day, the exact location of the burst pipeline could not be located. The work was then halted. The workers and machinery were immediately redirected to the Paithan Road for the main water pipeline connection work, which further affected the ongoing digging and barricading on Jalna Road. As a result, due to the reduced space for smooth traffic movement, long queues of vehicles formed.
Despite excavation, the search for the exact location of the burst pipeline continues to be unsuccessful. On Thursday, the municipal corporation resumed digging on Jalna Road, near the Kranti Chowk tank, to locate the exact point where the pipeline had burst. As excavation was being carried out with the help of a JCB, traffic on the road came to a halt from the morning itself. Long queues of vehicles formed, and due to limited space on the road, vehicles were moving forward very slowly. By evening, the burst pipeline had still not been located, raising questions about how many more days the digging work would have to continue.
For the past one and a half months, the civic employees have been searching for the exact location of the burst water pipeline, but the exact point of the break remains unidentified. On Thursday, when excavation work began on Jalna Road, traffic was completely disrupted throughout the day and late into the night. This caused significant hardship for commuters. As a result, the speed of traffic on Jalna Road was reduced for a staggering 10 hours.