THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Experts cry foul over KWA not having ‘as-laid maps’ which help the engineers to determine the specific position of underground services and relate them to the principle design criteria. Now when the pipe springs a leak, the labourer is asked to dig the area where water seeps in which causes damage not only to the roads but further damage to the KWA pipeline.
When the water crisis hit the capital city hard, M Radhakrishnan, a former chief engineer of KWA, came up with a post highlighting the lack of having an ‘as-laid map’ that gives comprehensive information about the pipeline in the entire area. He says if the KWA had this mapping system it would have helped the engineers to identify the measurement of the pipeline in all areas, types, number of valves, the points where the pipelines were shifted, old pipelines that exist now, frequent disruption areas, joints and much more.
“But unfortunately, KWA does not have a mapping system in use. This is where the real problem starts and what has happened in T’Puram is because of the lack of as-laid maps. If this was there, the engineers would have got a clear cut idea on what lies in store for them before they dug the road,” says Radhakrishnan. He also says that the impact of the drinking water shut down on the people could have been mitigated. Radhakrishnan has demanded that its high time ‘as-laid maps’ are implemented in KWA so that engineers do not come across such a crisis in the future. However, a senior incumbent official in KWA told TNIE that layout of the KWA pipelines during the pre-independence period is available.
“Google mapping has been almost completed. Still, there are areas pending,” said a KWA official. A few years ago, the KWA was part of an interim augmentation project by the crisis management group, and all details on transmission lines from Aruvikkara were mapped and compiled and kept at the special survey unit.