Around 1:30 am, an earthmover machine was used for the storm water drain widening work by Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) contractors, accidentally hit the valve breaking it completely. The water gushed out in large quantities from the 600 mm dia feeder line, creating a flood around the place.
Although BWSSB engineers rushed to the spot,, the damage could not be controlled immediately. "We could not stop the water gush out as the main valve of these pipes lie at High Grounds and these pipelines run nearly 7-8 kilometres in length. Since water is stored here round the clock, closing valves could not stop the draining of water," said Satish, assistant executive engineer, BWSSB.
He said the scour valves were as old as the pipelines and could be easily restored with no vehicle movement. “If the valve had broken during the traffic movement, it would have been a disaster," added Satish.
Welding work
BWSSB was to complete the welding work only by 6:30 pm on Thursday evening where pumping of water was restored immediately. However, precious water which was meant to be distributed to Bangalore East areas, mainly Pillanna Garden, Fraser Town, OMBR Layout, HBR and HRBR Layout, has gone down the drain and hence, there could be shortage of water supply in these areas on Friday and Saturday.
BWSSB engineer-in-chief T Venkataraju said that he will be deploying water tankers to the affected areas. “We will be writing to BBMP to claim for the water charges which will be 20 MLD X Rs 36 which is nearly Rs 7.20 lakh. We have also incurred labour charges in fixing the valves of these feeder lines," he added.
Visiting the spot, BWSSB minister S Suresh Kumar said he will speak to the BBMP commissioner and claim Rs 25 lakh for the damage.
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