Chembur pipeline damaged during monorail work

Water supply to large parts of Sindhi Colony, and the HPCL and BPCL units at Chembur, was affected after a 24-inch drinking water pipeline burst near the Chembur police station on Monday afternoon.

Water supply to large parts of Sindhi Colony, and the HPCL and BPCL units at Chembur, was affected after a 24-inch drinking water pipeline burst near the Chembur police station on Monday afternoon.

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Water Department officials said the repairs would be completed by midnight on Monday.

“Water supply will be restored by Tuesday morning,” said an official from the department, requesting anonymity.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has blamed a Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) contractor, who is working on the Monorail project.

MMRDA has accepted the contractor’s negligence but said no action will be taken against him because it claims the damage is minor.

In the last five years, MMRDA or MSRDC (Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation) have damaged at least 55 pipelines that bring water to the city.

After a pipeline burst at Nana Chowk on January 4, the BMC had asked MMRDA to take better care while digging roads to avoid damage to underground utilities — that request has clearly gone unheeded.

The BMC has filed a First Information Report (FIR) in the Chembur police station against the MMRDA contractor for Monday’s pipe burst.

“In May last year, MMRDA damaged pipelines twice while constructing the Lalbaug flyover. The agency has not yet paid the repair bill of Rs 13 lakh,” the official said.

“Development work cannot be stopped but it’s unfortunate that the pipeline was damaged,” said Vinay Deshpande, chief engineer (Water Department).

MMRDA spokesperson Dilip Kawathkar called it a minor issue. “The contractor was identifying underground utilities and there was no wastage of water. We will not take any action (against the contractor).”