Pipeline replacement to save 50,000 litres of water a day

The Hindu       24.12.2010

Pipeline replacement to save 50,000 litres of water a day

Bangalore: The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board’s (BWSSB)
work on replacing old pipelines on a three-km stretch from Wilson Garden
10th Cross to Dairy Circle flyover may be affecting traffic on the busy
road. But once completed, the new pipelines will check wastage of
50,000 litres of water that was literally going down the drain every day
because of leakages.

BWSSB Chairman P.B. Ramamurthy, who inspected the work on Thursday,
told The Hindu that the pipes had become rusty and corroded as they were
laid almost 40 years ago. “We were receiving a lot of complaints from
residents of Lakkasandra and Wilson Garden about low pressure and
irregular supply to houses located in elevated areas. This was because
of the leaky old pipes,” he said.

Pointing out that the cast iron pipes were now being replaced with
mild steel and ductile iron pipes (3 km of water lines and 250 metres of
sanitary line) at a cost of Rs. 1.5 crore, Mr. Ramamurthy said the new
lines would ensure there are no problems for the next 15 years.
Alternative arrangements had been made to ensure that water supply to
the areas was not affected, he said.

Seven earth movers and 35 workers are working round the clock to complete the work within the 20-day deadline, he said.

Mr. Ramamurthy was accompanied by the area corporators and BWSSB engineers.

Road users and people staying in neighbouring areas were irked by the
work and the resultant inconvenience, especially the dust and traffic
jams. Prasanna Kumar, who lives near Lalbagh, said he had to park his
vehicle at some point and walk for a distance to get to his place.

Meghana Gowda had to get down and walk from Dairy Circle up to NIMHANS as autorickshaws refused to ply on the stretch.

Panting and puffing, Ms. Gowda blamed the civic authorities for creating the inconvenience.