Cuttack: A day after a portion of Khapuria-Nuabazar main road caved in, Water Corporation of Odisha (Watco) on Friday lodged a complaint with Madhupatna police, alleging that underground cable-laying work by a private company through horizontal directional drilling (HDD) method had damaged a 400mm gravity sewer pipeline, ultimately triggering the road subsidence.As per the complaint, Watco general manager (sewerage) Jitendra Kumar Gochhi said, the sewer pipeline, laid through micro-tunnelling in 2021 on Nuabazar main road, was damaged at two locations during optical fibre-laying work, after which they had raised concerns. This year too, the agency claimed, it first informed the private company concerned through official letters dated Feb 6 and March 20, asking them to repair the damage urgently.According to the Watco, the company representatives later visited the site, confirmed that their cable alignment had intersected the sewer line and diverted the cable. However, the company allegedly failed to provide technical or logistical support for restoring the damaged sewer pipeline.Officials said the sewer line is located around 5.5m below the surface in a high-water-table and sandy soil zone, making repairs highly challenging. Though Watco restored the damaged pipeline and resurfaced the road, the stretch caved in again on Thursday morning, prompting emergency repairs to make it motorable.“The road subsidence is a direct consequence of structural damage caused to the sewer pipeline during HDD-based cable laying. We had repeatedly alerted the company and sought immediate intervention, but no action was taken. We have now approached police for necessary legal action,” said Gochhi.DCP Khilari Rishikesh Dnyandeo said they have received the complaint from Watco. “The documents and technical reports are being examined, and an inquiry has been initiated. Appropriate action will be taken based on the findings,” he said.
