Mumbai: Repair of MGL gas pipeline puncture to begin today

The repair of the punctured gas pipeline of the Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) on the Western Express Highway (WEH) in Malad started on Friday evening and is expected to go on till Saturday evening, top MGL officials told DNA. The pipeline was punctured on Wednesday while a pile-driving machine was erecting a pillar for the Dahisar East--Andheri metro line.

The technicians working on the line told DNA that the work got delayed because it had developed complications.

"Our pipe is around 6 metres deep beneath the surface of WEH. The soil there is very loose and is collapsing, so we cannot weld the pipeline in this condition. So we had to arrange for very high quality shuttering material which will prevent a trench collapse," said a top MGL official. Shuttering is a civil engineering process where metal or wood planks are used on the sides of a trench to ensure that the trench does not cave in while workers are in it.

MGL officials said that the shuttering material has been provided by J Kumar, the same metro construction contractor firm whose labourers punctured the pipeline. "Now that the shuttering is complete, we can start work. After this is done, then workers can safely start welding the punctured part of the pipeline. It will take about 20 hours." said the official.