Ghatkopar pipeline burst: Telecom firm will be asked to pay up

After a major pipeline burst affected the water supply of more than 2 lakh Ghatkopar residents, the civic body will penalise the telecom company that was digging up the roads.

The company was laying down 4G cables when it damaged the pipeline. The bill by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will include the cost incurred to repair the pipeline and is likely to run over Rs 4 lakh, a senior civic official said.

The incident took place on May 18. Repair work on the pipeline was completed only on Saturday. Ghatkopar residents claimed they faced severe water crisis for more than four days.

“We have decided to penalise the party [telecom company] for causing inconvenience to citizens and recover the cost incurred to repair the pipeline. The charges incurred in repairing are being calculated. In the next two days, the penalty bill would be sent to the company,” said Manohar Pawar, deputy hydraulic engineer (eastern suburbs).

Three departments under the hydraulic team worked on repairing the pipeline. While officials said the company was granted no objection certificate (NoC), there were violations and negligence on the part of the firm while carrying out the work, they claimed.

“We had given an outline route map to the telecom company that needed to be followed while laying the cables. But while digging they dug below the permissible levels. There is also a slight change in the route. Moreover, lack of supervision led to this pipeline burst. It is a serious issue and such mistakes cannot be reported,” said a senior official, requesting anonymity.

The BMC also filed a complaint at the local police station against the telecom company. Senior officials said a probe has also been initiated on why permissions to dig and lay cables were granted by the local BMC office when a major pipeline was running underground at the same location.

There were three spots on the pipeline that were damaged by the company, a senior official said.

Areas hit: Lakshmi Nagar, Garodia Nagar, Tilak Road, Pant Nagar, 60-feet road, 90-feet road and MG Road