Gurgaon: Days after a major leak in the city’s master water supply network near Basai disrupted water supply to many parts of the city, another fault in a key pipeline has added to residents’ woes.A 700-mm water supply pipeline near Baani Square in Sector 50 was damaged on Saturday during excavation work being carried out on private land, affecting supply to several areas located along Sohna Road and Southern Peripheral Road.According to officials, the damaged pipeline draws water from the Sector 51 area and feeds a large network of sectors, making the fault critical for the local distribution system. Water supply to sectors 46, 48, 49, 50, 52, 56, 57 and areas from Sector 58 to 76 is expected to remain affected until the repair work is completed.Officials said after rains, the soil around the excavation became loose and eroded, while the soil beneath the pipeline was also washed away. This weakened the pipeline’s support and eventually led to the damage.“We have issued a notice to the property owner for negligence,” the senior GMDA official said, adding that excavation near a road or around a major utility pipeline must be carried out carefully, as such work can affect the stability of the soil supporting underground infrastructure.Officials said teams have been deployed to repair the damaged portion of the pipeline and restore the supply at the earliest.“Repair work was underway and the supply was expected to be restored by late Saturday evening, subject to completion of the repair,” the official added.RWAs, meanwhile, urged the residents to use water judiciously until the repair work is completed.Vijay Shiv Nath, chairman of Malibu RWA federation, said residents managed the morning supply with stored water, but a prolonged disruption could create problems. “We somehow managed the morning supply with the stored water, but any prolonged disruption will affect the residents. We have already conveyed the message to residents to use water carefully,” he said.The latest disruption comes just days after a major leakage was detected in the rising main pipeline carrying water from Basai Water Treatment Plant to the Sector 16 boosting station. The leakage, which occurred near Basai, affected water supply to a large number of areas, including Basai village, Kadipur, Chakarpur and several residential sectors.Even as the repair work at Basai was completed late Thursday night, residents said the supply was yet to be fully streamlined in some pockets. Residents of DLF Phase 1, 2 and 4, among other areas, continued to complain of water shortage and low pressure.Ishwar Kewalramani, a resident of DLF-2, said, “Water supply has been disrupted for last four days. When the overhead tanks run dry, we have no option but to order tankers, which adds to the burden. We have been told that a new pipeline from Basai towards the Dwarka Expressway and NH-8 will take another one-and-a-half to two years. But what until then?”Officials said the supply network is being normalised gradually as water is restored through the distribution system.
