PONDA: Usgao villagers stopped the work of laying water pipeline through a nullah in Dhatwada of the village, on Saturday.
The pipeline was being laid to augment the additional water requirement of Opa water plant at Khandepar. It is instructive that after the recent inauguration of a new 27 MLD unit, the capacity of the Opa plant has reached 167 MLD from 140. To meet this additional raw water requirement of the plant, the WRD is laying 1000 mm diametre pipeline from Ganjem Bandara to Opa plant through Usgao.
This work was stopped by the villagers, who claim that laying water pipeline through the nullah would destroy the rivulet, their only source of water in time of crisis.
Clarifying that, per se, they are not against laying of the water pipeline, they villagers said that the work should not destroy the rivulet, their only water source in time of crisis.
The Water Resources Department (WRD) is laying two parallel pipelines through the nullah, two metres deep, after filling the rivulet. This, the villagers claim, would stop the flow of water from natural springs into the rivulet.
The villagers also alleged that the WRD and the contractor did not take them into confidence before commencing the work and that the department is laying the pipeline without studying the impact on environment and ecology. “This is highly objectionable,” a villager said.
It is learnt that the raw water augmentation pipeline between Ganjem and Opa plant is 9.7 km long; and 2.2 km of this pipeline will have to be laid two metre deep under the Dhatwada nullah. It is further learnt that the contractor has already laid around 1.4 km pipeline through the nullah.
The Usgao villagers claim that before commencement of the water pipeline work, they wrote to WRD, PWD and Usgao Panchayat opposing laying pipeline through the nullah.
Meanwhile, the villagers have decided meet the officials on Monday to demand diversion of the pipeline.
