Nagpur: North Nagpur corporator Gautam Ambade on Friday staged an unusual protest over wastage of potable water at Kamal Chowk by bathing in the middle of a waterlogged road. The protest was an attempt to highlight what he termed the ‘criminal negligence’ of Orange City Water (OCW) and Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s Water Works Department. Drinking water has been gushing out from a leaking valve at Kamal Chowk for the last several days, resulting in loss of thousands of litres of treated water and waterlogging on the road. Despite repeated complaints and reminders from local residents and public representatives, neither OCW nor the Water Works Department allegedly plugged the leak, triggering public outrage. Ashi Nagar Zone chairman Asif Sheikh joined Ambade in condemning ‘inaction’ of the authorities in the matter. “Several localities of Nagpur are facing water shortages, yet thousands of litres of drinking water is being allowed to flow down the drain,” Ambade said during the protest.Residents, social activists and local politicians who joined the protest alleged that while citizens are urged to conserve water, the agencies responsible for its distribution have failed to prevent wastage caused by poor maintenance and delayed repairs. They demanded immediate repairs of the leaking valve and action against officials responsible for ignoring complaints. They warned that if the issue is not resolved promptly, an intense agitation would be launched. An OCW spokesperson said water is leaking from an old 300 mm diameter pipeline located beneath the road and oozing out from the valve access pipe.The spokesperson said the pipeline was damaged at multiple locations between Kamal Chowk and the Pachpaoli Railway Crossing during construction of new railway overbridge. As per OCW, the NHAI contractor carried out repairs but since the pipeline is almost beneath the centre of the road, the leakage could not be completely arrested.“The contractor has laid new pipeline for 380 metres, and work is in progress for 70 metres. The leakage will stop once the new pipeline is connected to the network and damaged pipeline is disconnected. The work commenced in April 2026 and is expected to be completed by mid-June 2026,” said the OCW spokesperson.
