Nagpur: The months-long ordeal of Pratap Nagar residents is set to end soon, with Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) hopeful of completing sewerage and road works outside Somalwar School within a fortnight. The State Public Works Department’s World Bank division is executing the project.The long-pending hurdle — a BSNL duct carrying critical telecom links — has been resolved, officials said. The duct is understood to be part of an important network serving connectivity towards Nagpur airport and the MIHAN area.“The only work remaining is to put the pipe in the drain and secure it from above,” municipal commissioner Vipin Itankar told TOI.According to officials, BSNL has almost completed its part, following which the World Bank division will finish the drain work and restore the road. NMC will then take up shoulder and footpath works on the stretch.When TOI visited the site on Saturday, the dug-up stretch was largely dry, with only a few puddles remaining. It was unclear whether the water was from recent rain or another source, as the area had not received rainfall in the preceding few days.JCBs were still excavating at the site. While digging appeared to have been completed at one end, the stretch in front of Somalwar School remained the worst affected, with most of the work concentrated there.The prolonged construction came under renewed scrutiny after the July 28 deluge, when fire department personnel rescued stranded students through waist-deep water after flooding rendered two school gates unusable.The incident highlighted the risks posed by prolonged road construction and the difficulties of coordinating underground utility works on a densely serviced stretch.The BSNL obstruction underscored the challenges of executing infrastructure projects on densely serviced stretches, where underground telecom, water and sewerage networks must often be identified and shifted before excavation can proceed.
