Online method to make pipe-laying work quicker

New procedure is being carried out on 90 metres of road in Jayanagar, in the first phase

This method billed as “online replacement of pipes,” is being carried out for the first time in the City. However, the term ‘ online’ does not connote Information Technology but is the technical nomenclature of the new procedure.

Now, pipes upto 90 metres out of the proposed 346 metres are being laid underneath Jayanagar, 10th main road, 3rd block. Krita Engineering Private Limited, which has successfully laid 5 kms of pipes in Victoria Terminus area in Mumbai recently is carrying out the work for BWSSB. R

High Density Polyethylene (HDP) pipes measuring ten inches in diameter are used to replace the existing 40-year-old stoneware pipes. HDP pipes are airtight and non-corrosive by nature, explained Arun Sharma, engineer at work.
Elaborating on the unique technique Sharma said, “The online replacement technique involves two processes being carried out simultaneously i.e demolition of old pipes and laying of new ones.”  Instead of digging up an entire road, two pits are dug at different end points, where the pipes will be laid.

A rod running to the length of the pipes will be inserted inside the pit and made to enter the old pipeline. It would reach the other pit, where the new pipeline will be placed readily and dragged over the old pipeline.
“It is here that the expander, positioned around the new pipeline, is used to burst the old pipeline. Remnants of burst pipe are buried in the soil. This process will be completed within two hours. Thus, only a fortnight is required to complete the entire pipe-laying work,” Sharma pointed out.

In the first phase, 90 metres of the road is being laid.
“For the last five days we have identified locations of the old pipeline, dug the pits and inserted the rod. The process of bursting old pipeline and substituting it with new one will be done on Thursday,” Sharma said. The machinery and equipment used for this procedure are German products.

If this pipe-laying technique proves successful, it will be replicated in many other streets, so that the replacement of old pipelines all over the City does not affect the public, said a top BWSSB official.