Mumbai: Burst pipeline patched up, but dent in road to stay

05 August,2016 09:31 AM IST |   |  A Correspondent

Water supply restored to Parel, Matunga after a burst pipeline was repaired, but the Babasaheb Ambedkar road will not be concretised because of the monsoon


Water supply may have been restored to Parel and Matunga after a burst pipeline was repaired, but there is no relief for commuters on the busy Babasaheb Ambedkar Road, where the incident took place. An underground water pipeline had burst on this road on Wednesday, causing flooding and inconveniencing motorists. The dug up road will not be concretised any time soon because of the monsoon and motorists will have to make do with paver blocks.

Also read - Mumbai: Burst pipeline dries up taps in Parel, Matunga


The BMC workers worked all night to restore water supply. Pic/Suresh Karkera

The 48-inch or four-feet New Tansa pipeline supplies water to the F/South and F/North wards that consist of Parel, Matunga, Lalbaug, Kalachowki, King's Circle. It is a decades-old pipeline that has been serving the island city.
Around 6 am on Wednesday, water started seeping out on Babasaheb Ambedkar Road near the Five Gardens junction. Those going towards South Mumbai were asked to take the flyover while those going towards Lalbaug, Parel were asked to go via Ruia College.

Supply is restored
"It took us hours to reach the rupture by excavation. Our workers worked all night and water supply was restored by 4 am. We have tested the pipeline for further leakages as well. The work has been wrapped up for now," said an official from the Hydraulics department.

Also read: Tansa pipeline burst leads to traffic chaos near Matunga

All affected areas were supplied with water yesterday, so residents heaved a sigh of relief. "We were worried about whether we would get water today. We had managed one day without water but another day would have been difficult. But to our surprise, water came as usual," said Nikhil Desai, a local activist.

But the concrete road is not going to be flattened any time soon. "We have covered the ditch now and placed a metal sheet over it. The road needs to settle for a bit. Then we will put paver blocks on the road, which will just take 4 hours. But concretisation of this patch cannot be undertaken immediately because of the monsoon," said an official from the Roads Department.

Road repairs to wait
The civic body had already planned repairs and improvements of BA Road after monsoon. So the work of this patch will also be taken up then. Until then, motorists will have to bear with paver blocks.

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