In a shocking discovery, one of the main drinking water pipelines near the North ROB has been found to have laid right in the middle of a sewage canal.
The pipeline was found during the road widening works of the Metro, near the Ernakulam Town Hall. Officials said they had no clue about its existence till now.
The pipeline could also be the reason why the efforts of the Corporation to reduce the routine water-logging, with the onset of each monsoon, in the Town Hall premises has remained a failure.
It seems that the pipeline, with its rusting metallic outer covering that have begun to show small cracks, was submerged in the drainage water all these years. Whether the drinking water was polluted by the sewage let out from drain outlets including that of the ESI hospital, is a question that even authorities could not answer.
A bunch of Corporation, KWA and KMRL officials inspected the area on Monday to see for themselves how the pipeline blocks the sewage water.
“As part of road widening works, KMRL is building another drainage a little away to replace the old one. This pipeline was found when they opened the slab of the existing canal as part of the construction work,” said Corporation Works Committee Chairperson Soumini Jain.
“The pipeline completely blocks a culvert between the Banerjee road and Paramara road, which could be the reason behind the heavy water-logging in the area. We have informed the KWA to re-align it as early as possible,” said Soumini Jain.