Police investigation sought in Gurugram pipeline damage
Gurugram: A team of Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) officials met the commissioner of Gurugram police, Muhammad Akil, and gave a representation, demanding police action against those who damaged its master water pipeline, near Pioneer Park in Sector 61, thrice in the past two
weeks.
The move comes after the irrecoverable loss of millions of litres of treated government water supplied to the city from the Chandu Budhera water treatment plant.
Selling illegally drawn groundwater through private tankers is a deep-seated problem in the city.
The district administration failed to stop this practice despite residents lodging numerous complaints and demanding authorities to clamp down on such
activities.
The GMDA letter mentioned that those who caused the damages could belong to neighbouring villages.
Officials said that they have been in the business of supplying groundwater to residents living in the newly developed private societies, prior to the commissioning of authority's piped water supply from May 1.
"Tanker mafia wants residents to remain dependent on them and with this intention, they cause leakages in the pipeline so that it does not reach residential societies," the GMDA letter to the police stated.
The GMDA's master 1,000mm water pipeline has been laid underground, at least 15-20 feet deep, and at places, sluice or gate valves are placed over the ground to regulate the water flow.
A GMDA official said that the tanker mafia used a JCB machine to dig up the 20-foot-deep water pipeline and make a large hole with an iron cutting machine on May 3.
"They made a hole in the pipeline in a way that water leaked directly into the adjoining sewer line — so that it (water) does not spread over the ground and become visible easily. It took us 24 hours to find the location and by that time, millions of litres of water got wasted. Repairing it took us another 24 hours and cost us ₹3.5 lakh," a GMDA official said.
Officials said that the miscreants or tanker mafia damaged the GMDA's water pipeline on May 3, 5 and 11 at the same location — near Pioneer Park in Sector 61.
