Public safety at stake: Guwahati grapples with water pipe bursting crisis

Guwahati, June 22: Satyabrata Sharma, a retired Chief Engineer from the Assam Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Board (AUWSSB), had issued a serious warning to officials from the Project Management Consultancy Services (PMC) about the possibility of a fatal water pipe bursting between Geeta Mandir and Hatigaon areas when the team visited him for his guidance. His warning turned out to be true when a water pipe burst in Kharguli area, resulting in the loss of a woman's life.

Subsequently, several other pipeline burst incidents occurred in the city within a short span of time, raising questions about the competence of the authorities involved in the project. Following the Kharghuli incident, three back to back pipeline burst incident occurred in Maligaon and Rajgarh area in the city till June 22, 2023.  

Following PMC's visit, Sharma also wrote a letter to Kamrup Metro Deputy Commissioner Pallav Gopal Jha on February 8 this year stating that he had spoken to the PMC officials and explained his thoughts and views but he is doubtful about their understanding regarding the matter.

Now the question arises, if the prediction was made earlier, why didn’t the PMC officials or authorities take any precautions which could have averted the incident and life of the woman might have been saved and other damages could have been avoided?

On May 24, in Kharguli, a water pipe burst around 2:32 pm, resulting in significant damage and the loss of a woman's life. The pump was switched off only after residents rushed to inform the workers at the pumping station around 3:10 pm.

Following the incident, at least 22 houses were damaged, and several people were injured. Preliminary investigations revealed that the incident occurred when a lid on the pipeline blew off while water was being pumped to a reservoir.

Satyabrata Sharma had explained that the water is pumped to the height of the reservoir in large diameter pipes and then released to the distribution network using pressure relief valves (PRVs) to reduce the pressure. If this is not monitored continuously, a failure in the PRVs may lead to distribution pipes bursting.

“Water distribution using PRVs is technically feasible only if constant monitoring for mechanical failure of the valves is ensured,” the retired engineer claimed.

Sharma has also asserted that he insisted upon the need of a reservoir in the Geeta Mandir area with mechanical arrangement of 24-hours surveillance to avoid such incidents and there has been no update on the development.

Of the eight reservoirs to be constructed under the JICA-assisted South Central Project, only two at Ramcha Hills and Amiya Nagar, have been completed so far.

The frequent bursting of water pipes in Guwahati, funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), has put the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in a difficult position. These incidents have resulted in the death of a woman, injured more than 40 people, forced 75 homeless people into a relief camp, and destroyed property worth lakhs of rupees since May 24.

The last incident of water pipe burst occurred at the Rajgarh-Commerce link road in Guwahati on June 12, 2023.

While the Congress and other political parties have slammed the state government for shoddy work and demanded compensation for the victims of pipelines burst, the government pointed out that the pipes were laid 9 years ago.

Meanwhile, Sharma accused the civic authorities responsible for the water supply of callous neglect and warned of the possibility of more severe incidents in Guwahati if immediate action is not taken.

About 70 percent of the city’s population is dependent on groundwater through borewells in individual households or unlicensed private tankers who source it from borewells.

To address the water scarcity in Guwahati, the government of Assam initiated four major water supply projects. However, these projects have faced delays and are yet to be completed.

The projects are the Guwahati South West Water Supply Project, with financial support under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission; the Guwahati South Central Water Supply Project and the Guwahati North Water Supply Project, with JICA assistance; and the Guwahati East Water Supply project, with assistance from the Asian Development Bank.

The Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) is supervising the South Guwahati West Water Supply Project with Project Management Consultant (PMC) along with M/S Tahal Consulting Engineers Ltd. The project was awarded to Gammon India Limited on turnkey basis.

The treated water from this project will be supplied to Kharghuli Reservoir from Sadilapur Water Treatment Plant through a 9 km long separate pipe line and this water will be available and supplied to the areas like Uzanbazar, Kharguli, Ramsa Hills, Amiyo Nagar, Chandmari, Rajgarh road, Zoo Road Tinilai, Geetanagar area, BSF camp etc. and house service connection to these areas will be provided by Guwahati Jal Board.

In 2009, the Assam Assembly passed the Guwahati Metropolitan Drinking Water and Sewerage Board (GMDW&SB) Act, and on December 23, 2011, the Guwahati Municipal Drinking Water and Sewerage Board, also known as the Guwahati Jal Board, was set up under the Act for the operation and maintenance of water supply projects.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma inaugurated the partial commissioning of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-assisted Rs.1,600 crore project on December 21, 2022. Against the target of providing drinking water to 1.42 lakh households, only 4,700 households have been covered under the project since its inception.

In August 2022, the GMDA terminated its contract with Gammon Engineers and Contractors Private Limited for the South West Water Supply Project, for failing to meet even the extended deadlines. Meanwhile, allegations of corruption and anomalies were also made against the JICA project by the government on February, 2022.

The Assam government in an official notification informed about setting up a panel to enquire in to the alleged complaint regarding corruption in JICA assisted Guwahati Water Supply Project.

The four mega projects which were initiated in 2008 to end the water woes of Guwahati city have missed several deadlines and is yet to be completed.

When asked on the timeline for completion of the project, Satyabrata Sharma said, “They cannot complete the scheme. Later the PMC and the contractors will hand over the defective work to the local engineers and the citizens will have to pay for it through taxation.”

“According to me, when the scheme was planned back in 2007, PHE or the urban board should have taken over the project and not the GMDA,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Gauhati High Court, in its order of May 25, 2023, observed that the affidavits of the GDMA and the GMDW&SB gave no details of the progress relating to water supply/distribution in the city. The court observed that the declarations made in the affidavits were contradictory to other material available in the next hearing on June 15.

Terming the Kharguli incident as ‘unfortunate’, the Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup Metro, Pallav Gopal Jha while speaking to The Assam Tribune said, “There were both loss of life and property and we have already initiated disciplinary actions against the officials responsible for the incident.”

The DC further said, “Pipeline bursting is a common phenomenon if you see nationally or globally. There are regular occurrences of leakage but situations should not turn out to be fatal.”

Speaking about the reason behind the incidents, Jha said “There are a lot of factors adding to the burst like length of the pipes, period of installing or mechanism to monitor. Once we are able to install the SCADA system, we won’t have to endure such incidents in the near future.”

Pipeline SCADA is a system for transmitting the information and data necessary for the operation of the pipeline facility via communication networks. The SCADA system can perform monitoring/control of the pipeline system from a remote centralized control room. He also said that the board would introduce community surveillance throughout the city. They would ask the citizens like workers at tea stalls, shop owners or normal residents to help them with the surveillance.

Jha further agreed that with proper surveillance and maintenance, the multiple incidents of pipe bursts could have been avoided in the city.

When asked regarding the reservoirs being built in the city, he said that the city has two reservoirs as of now in Amiya Nagar and Ramcha Hills. Works on two more are going on in Lichubagan and Geeta Mandir area which will be completed by the start of next year, he asserted.

The fatal incident in Kharguli highlights the urgent need for a comprehensive third-party safety audit of the entire water supply system in the city to prevent future incidents.

The credibility of the Guwahati Jal Board and other involved entities is being questioned, and the government must take immediate precautions to ensure the safety of its citizens.

It remains to be seen whether the government will prioritise the safety of its citizens and take appropriate measures or continue neglecting the incidents while claiming development.