Underpasses: BWSSB begins shifting of water lines The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News

The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Underpasses: BWSSB begins shifting of water lines: "To avoid the problems that were encountered during the work on the underpass at the Cauvery junction, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has taken up shifting of water and sewage lines well ahead of the start of work on the remaining six underpasses on Bellary Road leading to the international airport at Devanahalli.

BWSSB officials say that the reason the water pipes were cut at the Cauvery junction was because they were not given enough time to exhaustively check the existence of all the active lines.

“But now that we have been informed in advance, we have taken up work at the other junctions,” BWSSB chairperson Latha Krishna Rao told The Hindu. Underpasses will be constructed at Balabrooie junction, Cunningham Road junction, Windsor Manor junction, BDA junction, Sanjaynagar junction and CBI junction.

The first one at Cauvery junction is nearing completion. The road from Hebbal flyover to Balabrooie junction is also being widened.

Building these underpasses and widening the roads entails massive shifting of utility lines, particularly water and sanitary lines.

“We have data on the major lines, as the BWSSB had undertaken GIS infrastructure mapping under Indo-French protocol in core areas. Fortunately, this section was also mapped and we have a fair idea of the water and sanitary lines,” Ms. Rao said.

As per the road alignment, the existing water and sanitary lines fall right below the underpasses at many points. The BWSSB has to shift these lines to the extreme ends of the road and link them up to the existing ones.

Shifting of the water and sanitary lines would be completed at the BDA junction on Sunday, while the work is complete at the CBI junction.

“We only need to link up the lines to the existing ones at the CBI junction,” Ms. Rao said.

Meanwhile, the complicated piece of work for the BWSSB lies at the Windsor Manor junction.

“The alignment of the underpass at the junction falls right under our main feeder line, which provides water to all of Bangalore North. Shifting this will be a major task,” she said.

This feeder line starts from the BWSSB reservoir at the High Grounds. Following the widening of the Golf Course Road, about 870 metres of the pipeline has been shifted and another 130 metres remain to be shifted.
Electric cables

One of the problems that the BWSSB encounters in the massive shifting of lines is the presence of live electric cables.

“We have to stop work when we come across underground electric wires. We have to wait for Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) to complete the work, and even they take time as they simply cannot shut off power to the entire area for long periods,” Ms. Rao said.
Coordination

Coordination between the BBMP and BWSSB, lack of which had been a major cause for delay in projects, seems to have improved.

“The BBMP has already given us Rs. 6 crore for shifting water and sanitary lines at the Golf Course and Raj Bhavan. Money is expected soon for the work we have undertaken at Cauvery and BDA junctions,” Ms. Rao said."