Leakage of water pipes: Has the state government held anybody responsible yet?

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The burst and leakage of pipelines carrying water is a common phenomenon in Assam. However, the public in the state is in the dark as to who is responsible for such lapses and who the government has made accountable for such incidents.

According to relevant rules, in the event of wastage of water due to the negligence of any government official, the government has to make the official concerned cough up the loss.

The leakage of water pipelines flooded the Hatigarh Chariali area in Guwahati on October 24. Water was oozing out of the pipeline for about an hour, leading to a huge waste of potable water.

Such an incident occurred on the Anuradha-Noonmati Link Road in the city on October 18, 2023, leading to a huge loss of drinking water. Apart from the Kharguli incident of a pipeline burst involving the death of a woman, such leakages of water pipelines occurred in the Noonmati, Maligaon, and Zoo Road areas of the city in the recent past. The moot point remains that ‘has the authority concerned held anyone responsible for such incidents leading to the wastage of water’? The public is ignorant of any such move.

After the Kharguli incident, the Housing and Urban Affairs Department came out with a statement that they would conduct a high-level technical survey to ascertain the condition of the underground pipes carrying water. Nobody knows if the survey has at all started.

According to sources, it is certain that the GMC laid the water supply pipes some 30 years ago. Thus, damage or leakage in such underground pipes cannot be ruled out. However, each water-supplying agency has the responsibility to check the condition of its pipelines from time to time and repair them regularly. The agencies should also have the responsibility to have updated maps of their water-carrying pipes.

According to sources, the local people are apprehensive of the elbow joints of water supply pipes in the projects currently underway in Guwahati, which run the risk of early damage as the technique they use does not seem sound. At many places, the construction companies have left the work after laying nearly half of the pipes. Does the authority concerned monitor such lapses on a regular basis?

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