Pipelines burst at 7 locations in 5 days, 10 lakh litres of water wasted in Nashik city

Nashik: At least seven major water distribution pipelines burst at different locations across Nashik city over the past four to five days due to uncoordinated road-digging work by various agencies and municipal contractors, leading to the wastage of more than 10 lakh litres of water. The incidents occurred even as the city is facing severe water disruption and intermittent supply.The issue came up for discussion during the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) standing committee meeting held on Thursday, where members criticised the water supply department and civic administration for negligence. Standing committee members said lakhs of litres of treated water have been wasted as some of the pipelines burst while water supply was going on, further aggravating the crisis.According to officials of the water supply department, the pipeline bursts were largely caused by contractors undertaking road excavation works for Kumbh Mela-related infrastructure projects and laying of utility ducts. These contractors, officials alleged, failed to coordinate with the water supply department before digging and did not use metal detectors to identify underground pipelines and other utilities."Contractors are carrying out road-digging work without consulting the departments concerned. In several cases, water supply lines were damaged because contractors did not check the alignment of existing pipelines or use metal detectors before excavation," officials said.Taking serious note of the issue, standing committee chairperson Machhindra Sanap directed the civic administration to initiate action against contractors responsible for damaging water pipelines. He instructed officials to ensure that no road-digging work is allowed without prior clearance from the departments concerned, and mandatory ground scanning using metal detectors.Sanap said the negligence of contractors is unacceptable, especially when the city is grappling with water shortages and public complaints about disrupted and contaminated supply. "Wasting lakhs of litres of water in such a situation reflects poor coordination and accountability," he said during the meeting.When contacted, NMC officials said major pipelines were damaged near the Dream Castle signal on Makhmalabad Road, near ABB Circle on Trimbak Road, at Vadala Gaon, Papaya Nursery and a few other locations. In at least four of these cases, pipelines burst while water was being supplied to different parts of the city, resulting in substantial wastage.Officials estimated that more than 10 lakh litres of water were lost due to these incidents over the past few days. Repair works were carried out on a war footing to plug the leaks and restore supply, officials said.Civic officials said steps are now being taken to tighten coordination between departments and utility agencies to prevent recurrence. Meanwhile, residents continued to face water shortages, forcing many to depend on tankers and alternative arrangements.