Special Correspondent
Pune: A major water supply disruption occurred near the Nigdi PMPML bus stop after a pipeline burst during ongoing Metro construction work between Nigdi and Pimpri. The incident took place around 3:30 PM on Tuesday when drilling work for the project damaged a 600 mm-diameter pipeline, leading to the wastage of thousands of litres of water.
The MahaMetro project, extending from Pimpri to Nigdi, involves pillar excavation between Bhakti-Shakti Chowk and Kalbhor Chowk in Akurdi. The construction has been progressing rapidly for the past several months. However, the mishap occurred when a drill machine unintentionally struck the underground pipeline, causing a high-pressure water leak.
Water continued to gush out near Pawale Bridge in Nigdi until the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) managed to stop the supply about 90 minutes later. By that time, a significant amount of water had already been wasted, and passing vehicles were splashed as they moved through the area.
Efforts to contain the leakage using an excavator proved unsuccessful initially. The burst has now resulted in water supply disruptions in Akurdi, Khandobamal, and Vidyanagar.
PCMC’s water supply department promptly initiated repair work and cut off the supply to prevent further loss. Despite providing MahaMetro with pipeline location maps, negligence by the contractor led to this incident. Chief Engineer Pramod Obhase confirmed that the expenses for repairs would be recovered from the responsible contractor.
