Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
On Tuesday morning, work began on the relocation of a 1200mm diameter water pipeline at three locations along the Paithan Road to facilitate road widening. The pipeline needs to be moved to the locations of Gevarai Tanda, Kaudgaon-Taherpur, and Dhorkin. Besides, the relocated pipeline will require connections at six points. This work is expected to continue until Wednesday evening. As a result, the city's entire water supply has been shut off. Many colonies experienced water shortages, and residents had to rely on private tankers or purchase water jars.
The road widening work by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has been underway for the past few years. During this process, three locations encountered obstacles due to the large municipal water pipelines. The NHAI requested the relocation of these pipelines. In response, the municipal corporation decided to take a 48-hour shutdown starting at 9 am on Tuesday to facilitate the work. The cost and the relocation of the pipelines are being borne by the NHAI. The work officially commenced in the morning in the presence of municipal corporation officials.
The water supply from the 1200mm, 700mm, and 900mm diameter pipelines has been temporarily shut off. Several challenges were encountered at the locations where the pipeline shifting work began. At some points, municipal officers provided guidance to resolve the issues.
The municipal corporation officials who were present on the occasion included executive engineer (water supply) K. M. Phalak, Dhodimba Gaikwad, deputy engineer Kiran Dhande, M M Bawiskar, junior engineer Subhash Lohade, and Ashish Wani.
On Tuesday, the colonies that were supposed to receive water from tankers priced at Rs 350 did not receive a drop of water. The municipal corporation has now assured these colonies that they will receive water on Thursday. The water supply had already been irregular, with intervals of 5 to 8 days between supply, and now, in some areas, water will only be available after a gap of up to 10 days. As a result, residents had to purchase water jars for drinking on Tuesday. They also had to arrange for private tankers, leading to a surge in prices. Tanker operators, seeing the demand, increased their rates, and tankers that usually cost Rs 350 were being sold for Rs 500 on Tuesday.