Hyderabad: The Malkajgiri Water Supply Improvement Project has created chaos on almost all roads and lanes in Malkajgiri. The road surface has been ripped apart by the digging throughout the 386.5 km stretch for two years now.
Accidents occur in many localities as the roads have not been relaid even in sections where work to lay drinking water pipelines is complete. Old pipelines have also sustained damage during the course of the work.
Mr B.T. Srinivas, general secretary of the residents' welfare association of Malkajgiri, said, "Every resident commuting on these roads is suffering. Though the Chief Minister had assured us that the project would be completed on time, it has been delayed by months." The situation is worse during the rains and the pollution from dust is bad, he added.
Since old pipelines have been damaged in the digging, water from drains has leaked into drinking water pipelines.Water Board projects director Yella Swamy said managing director M. Dana Kishore had levied a penalty of '18,000 per day on Indian Hume Pipe Company Limited, the contractor, for the delay in carrying out the work. The contractor is running 89 days behind schedule and the penalty stood at Rs 1.62 crore on Saturday.
The project was allocated to IHP because it was one of the few companies with expertise to lay large diameter pipelines. Megha Infrastructure has been tasked with constructing the reservoirs.
Police books contractor
The Malkajgiri police registered case under IPC Section 337 against a contractor for the crater opening up in Safilguda on Saturday morning. Police said the work near NTR statue at Safilguda was completed on Friday night and the workers covered the site with mud. On Saturday morning, the road at the work site caved in, injuring three persons including a woman.
The work was carried out by one Srinivas, who is now absconding. It was not clear if he was sub-contracted the work by Indian Hume Pipe Company Limited, the contractor.
Police found that the contractor had disconnected another pipeline which supplies drinking water to the area for the work, but did not reconnect it properly. Water leaked from the pipeline, and resulted in the waer caving in.
“The Water Board also lodged a complaint stating that the contractor had conducted repairs on the pipeline without informing them and damaged the pipeline,” Malkajgiri sub-inspector B. James Babu said.
