A 12-kilometre water tunnel in India is currently undergoing repair work after two men damaged the main pipeline while drilling an illegal bore-well.
The incident came to light when the residents noticed water leakage last month in the area of Malad.
Initially, locals thought a pipeline burst caused the rupture. However, when Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials investigated the leakage they found that Vilas Kadam, the plot owner and Jagdish Talreja, the contractor, punctured the pipeline.
After causing the burst, both men attempted to seal the crack, but failed to stop the tunnel from leaking out. Now it is feared that the water has weakened the foundations of several buildings nearby.
Chief Hydraulic Engineer of the tunnel Vinay Deshpande told T&TI, “The water has already begun causing soil erosion which has formed huge cavities under the ground, making the surface hollow. If this continues, the structures may collapse.”
Local authorities in Malad are now considering emptying the five year old tunnel to repair the damage. However, the work has been held off temporarily as the repair work would cut the water supply between the towns of Bandra and Goregaon.
Vinay Deshpande added, “we have temporarily resolved the problem by inserting a wooden plug to stop the leakage since the puncture. Two days ago we re-excavated the area, and passed a camera through the tunnel. We now know that the repair work could take up to six weeks.”
Repairs to the Malad water tunnel will be a costly affair for the cash-strapped BMC, as specially designed pumps will have to be hired to abstract water from the tunnel which is 250-300 feet deep, and 6 metres wide in diameter.
Deshpande told T&TI, “I estimate that the cost will come around to Rs5M (US$108M), to resolve the leakage. The repairs will be carried out by water experts, tunnelling masters and hydraulic engineers.”
The BMC is now implementing stricter measures on bore well applications by surveying the area before granting permission. Anyone caught digging without permission will be prosecuted.
With regards to Kadam and Talreja, Deshpande told T&TI, “The police have registered an FIR (First Information Report) against them. Both culprits will be prosecuted in the court and penalised for their actions.”
