Major leakage on 36-year-old abandoned water pipeline plugged

Nagpur: On Holi, after receiving a call in the morning hours from local vigilant residents about a damaged water pipeline near LAD Square, Gandhi Nagar, leading to leakage on the road, NMC OCW officials, after 18 hours of technical work, plugged the leakage and prevented thousands of litres of Ambazari Lake water going down the drain.
Though the pipeline was not of OCW, its team first carried out an inspection and found that it was an abandoned 12-inch pipeline laid in 1980s from Ambazari Lake to some parts of city.

The NMC-OCW team reached the spot to support MahaMetro team who may have damaged the pipeline during their work.

The leakage was so profound that it could have dropped water level at Ambazari Lake. It was learnt that the lake water is being used by a swimming pool through the 36-year-old abandoned pipeline.

NMC-OCW also took help of DV Choudhary, former superintendent engineer, water works department, during whose regime water supply was provided to city from Ambazari Lake. The supply was shut from this tank in 1982.

Team searched many valves of that time (year 1982) and found two valves buried deep near Ambazari Lake and closed them. Meanwhile, MahaMetro team tried to stop the flow by putting concrete bags at leakage point. Team also tried to close the gates of intake well by taking help of divers who tried to close the mouth of outlets of pipe with sand bags.

Recently various agencies working for development of Nagpur like KCC limited — the firm constructing Y-shaped flyover in Sadar area and MahaMetro damaged pipelines NMC-OCW pipelines at several places. This had resulted in thousands of litres of potable water gone waste in drain.