The test run of water flow in the pipelines laid as part of the Yettinahole Integrated Drinking Water project has left the local people worried. Owing to the holes that remain unplugged along the pipeline, water leaked from many places, damaging the roads and other public places.
Residents of Mallagadde, Dekhala, Kumbraradi, and other villages have complained to the officers of the Yettinahole project about the leakage at different places. A couple of vehicles were stuck in the mud due to the sudden flow of water. The development has prompted people to question the quality of the work executed.
The laying of the pipeline for the project, which intends to lift 24.01 TMC of water from the Western Ghats near Sakaleshpur to drought-prone districts, began in 2014. As part of the project, eight weirs are being constructed to divert the flow of the water. Now, the contractors are engaged in a test run of water flow to check for leakages, if any. There was water leakage at different locations during the test run of water supply from the weir at Kadumane.
A senior official of the project told The Hindu that the leakage was quite natural, as many holes remained unplugged. “Now the test run is being done. Pipelines were laid years ago. At some points, man-holes are kept open so that repair work can be done. We are doing the test run to check these points and plug them. This will go on several times before commissioning the project,” he said.
Further, the officer pointed out that, as a major project, it involved many workers over the years. Those who joined the work recently would not know what happened earlier or where the gaps were. “We will repair the damage caused by the test runs. The local people are demanding the construction of a concrete road. We will send the proposal and take up the work if approved,” he said.
