Team Herald
PONDA: A major 750-mm diameter pipeline supplying water to Ponda taluka from Opa water treatment plant burst on Sunday at 12.15 pm resulting in water shortage to the consumers and causing them hardship in celebrating Diwali.
The villagers of Curti and Kerya blamed the National Highway contractor for unplanned work that “caused the pipeline to burst.”
The locals said that the contractor did not construct a retaining wall before shifting two the main pipelines supplying water to Panjim. “The excavation done by the contractor for shifting the pipelines made the existing underground foundation weak that caused the pipeline burst today,” a Curti villager said.
The water gushing from the pipe brought down huge amount of mud on two lanes of the four-lane highway; the mud sludge was spread across nearly a kilometre.
The officials said that pipeline repairing work has begun and it is expected to be repaired by Monday evening. The affected villages are Marcaim, Bandora, Veling, Priol and Curti Khandepar Panchayat.
The rupture occurred just opposite the two 900 and 750 dia pipelines that were damaged due to landslide at Kerya Curti road in August this year.
The mud sludge that flooded the highway paralysed the traffic, which was diverted on the remaining two lanes for few hours.
The huge amount of mud sludge once again destroyed the fields at Kerya. These fields were damaged in a landslide that occurred in August in which two main pipelines had collapsed.
When contacted, PWD Minister Deepak Pauskar said he would order an inquiry into the incident of pipeline burst at Khandepar.
