Amid weekly water cuts, TMC receives over 90 complaints about pipeline leakage

However, the water department of the civic body has refuted these claims and said that most of the pipeline leakage and damages are caused due to the different types of construction works for infrastructure projects taken up by different agencies. In Thane, the work for metro lines, roads and bridges is in full swing

Thane: At a time when residents of Kalyan-Dombivli and Navi Mumbai are facing weekly water cuts, the Regional Disaster Management Cell of Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has received over 90 complaints about water pipeline leakages and damages across Thane from January till May till date.

Thane, India - May 09, 2023: Water being wasted due to a water pipeline valve leakage, at Panchpakhadi, near TMC Office, in Thane, India, on Tuesday, May 09, 2023. (Praful Gangurde/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

The number of such complaints about pipeline leakages has risen each year as per the complaints recorded with RDMC since 2020. In 2020, between January to May, 41 complaints were recorded and in 2022 saw 66 complaints in five months. However, this year till May, the complaints have shot up to 90.

These water damages and leakage is one of the prime reasons for water wastage, claim residents, where thousands of litres of water is wasted every day, with no efficient preventive measures in place by the TMC to curb them.

However, the water department of the civic body has refuted these claims and said that most of the pipeline leakage and damages are caused due to the different types of construction works for infrastructure projects taken up by different agencies. In Thane, the work for metro lines, roads and bridges is in full swing.

“The majority of water leakage and damages are due to the ongoing construction work of residential projects across Thane. Whenever a call is received regarding damage and leakages, our team is all ready to deal with it and repair it on the spot. However, as a part of preventing them, we do ask the agencies to ensure the water pipelines are kept safe during the digging work or any other construction work. We ensure such cases are immediately resolved to save water from wastage,” said Vinod Pawar, executive engineer, water department, TMC.

“What we do is whenever work is undertaken, we ask the agency to ensure the water pipeline is not affected. We also guide them on that with details of the pipeline’s existence. Most times it’s due to an accident” added Pawar.

Meanwhile, residents of Thane who have been highlighting the issue of water wastage claimed that the lack of preventive measures from the TMC is the reason why the damages and leakage incidents are increasing every year.

“As an actively concerned resident of Thane, I feel the civic body does not take water wastage seriously and hence no proper preventive measures are undertaken. The civic body knows the exact drawings of the pipelines, and the same should be communicated to the agencies that are carrying out the work. Most times we see no TMC officials present at the construction spot. There are no precautionary measures taken by the civic body in advance,” said Sunil Hadkar, 76, a resident, who was a social worker from Thane.

“The pipeline which is old needs to be checked and maintained too on a time-to-time basis. Which I doubt TMC is doing because the number of such incidents has not reduced all these years,” said Hadkar.

No water supply in Diva-Mumbra on Wed

Water supply around Kalyan Phata to Shankar Mandir under the Diva-Mumbra ward committee will be closed on Wednesday, May 10 from 10 am to 10 pm due to pipeline repair works by the water supply department of Thane Municipal Corporation.

Water is supplied to this area through the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation. After the completion of repair work, the water supply will be at low pressure for the next one to two days. The administration has appealed to the citizens to take note of this.

During the repair period, water supply will be stopped from Nirmal Nagri, Rameshwar Park, Dosti Sankul area, Bholenath Nagar, Rose Nagar, MM Valley area, Kadar Palace to Kismet Colony, Chand Nagar area, Khadi Machine Road, Shivaji Nagar areas.