The Palarivattom-Vyttila PWD road that caved in on Tuesday morning following pipe burst
| Photo Credit: Thulasi Kakkat
High pressure pumping coupled with aged pipelines triggered a pipe burst causing a stretch of the Palarivattom-Vytilla PWD Road near Pallippady Junction to cave in besides inundating scores of shops along the area on Tuesday around 10 a.m.
A 700-mm branch pipeline of the 1,200-mm main pipeline carrying water from Aluva to Thammanam pumping station was the one that burst. Consequently, drinking water supply to not less than 20 divisions falling under the Kerala Water Authority’s (KWA) Kaloor and Vytilla sub divisions will be disrupted at least for the next two days.
Decades-old pipes
KWA boosts the water supply on alternative days by cranking up enough pressure to serve consumers in the tail end of distribution networks, which was the case on Tuesday. “Water will be pumped at around 2kg per centimetre square, which is almost double than the normal supply pressure. The primo pipelines drawn through the area are at least 35-40 years old and hence are fragile unlike the new ductile iron pipes. Our primary assessment is that these two factors could have contributed to the pipe burst,” said a senior official of KWA.
KWA, however, has not shut down pumping from Aluva but has merely closed the valve on the pipeline concerned at Samskara Junction. Even then it took about an hour for the water flow to stop.
Road destroyed
Road along the area of the pipe burst has suffered considerable damage and is left with a gaping crater facilitating a clear sight of the pipe beneath. A 15-metre stretch of the road has developed cracks and remain jumbled up reminiscent of a place hit by an earthquake.
“The affected area can be qualified as total damage and it would cost about Rs. 5 lakh to restore it considering that it is a road built using bituminous macadam bituminous concrete (BMBC) method. KWA Vytilla sub division authorities have informed us that they will do the repair works at their own expense and complete it in a couple of days. They are planning to lay interlocking titles on the affected area rather than tarring it,” said a senior PWD official.
About 8 shops in the area suffered damage after a little more than ankle-high water and mud got swept inside. Considerable water swept through the by-lanes in the area forming water pools in front of many houses leaving the families surprised. For KWA, the pipe burst could not have been more ill-timed as it coincided with the restoration of one of the two motors under maintenance at its Pazhoor pump house that had seriously hit water supply in many parts of the city and its suburbs.
