BWSSB’s shoddy work on sewage pipes raises a stink

Four months ago, the BWSSB began work on replacing sewage pipes on Richmond Road. For weeks, sewage flowed on to the road, hindering traffic and pedestrians and creating an almost permanent mess at Hosmat Junction.

Even now, the work is far from over and the pace is painfully slow.

Engineers reveal they are encountering many problems daily and will not be wrapping up anytime soon. “The depth to which we have to dig is more than six feet. The soil condition is bad. There are power cables, water pipes and phone lines. We have to be very careful while working,” an engineer said.

The BWSSB set out to replace what they called “British-era” 150mm-diameter pipe with 450mm-diameter pipes, when complaints of sewage backing up and overflowing out of manholes began pouring in. However, when they opened up to see what was wrong, they discovered that the soil was loose, the pipes were old and the line was falling apart.

It required a complete overhaul; a quick fix would not help. The overhaul involved replacing existing small-diameter pipes with larger ones, which would be able to better handle the quantum of sewage flowing from MG Road. Now, the major work has been on for several months, rendering the stretch unusable.

Of the total 720 metres of sewage pipe that was to be replaced, work on 520 metres has been completed and 13 manholes have been constructed. However, the remaining stretch is posing a challenge to the BWSSB, engineers revealed.

Continuing the work on Garden Midford Road—the road that connects MG Road to Richmond Road near the KSRP Quarters—will be tough because there are buildings on both sides, the soil is loose and there are cables running in all directions.

“This stretch is tricky. We have not been able to speed up progress here,” an engineer admitted. He also added that the sewage had to be allowed to flow on to the road as there was no other arrangement for it. “Once the work is complete, not a drop will be seen on the road,” he assured.

Promises hold no water
From the beginning, the BWSSB has been assuring there will be no delay and the road will be as good as new once they leave.
However, the project has been routinely delayed either because it proved to be a more work-intensive one requiring huge funds or because the board could not decide on the method it should adopt on a stretch where the soil caved in easily.

Once the work was under way, the ground proved to be difficult and there were not enough labourers, especially during October.

BBMP, BWSSB not in tandem
The stormwater drain too had to be fixed. So, once the BWSSB was done with laying pipes and had covered a few parts, the Palike opened up the very same parts a few days later to work on the stormwater drains.

“It is not possible to do both works simultaneously. The concrete on the pipes need a few days to settle. Only after this could the stormwater drain be built,” an engineer said.

Since the project was initiated, it has changed several hands within the BWSSB.

It was recently handed over to a chief engineer who again reiterated that the work would be done sooner than later.

It was at the beginning of this year that BWSSB undertook repair work here. The stretch was closed briefly and when it opened, it became unusable. There are no answers for when things will return to normal.