Ongoing Sewer Line Work in Dhantoli Troubles Residents
Nagpur, India- In February 2024, it was reported that sewer line repairs and installations in Dhantoli, near Baheti Hospital on Balraj Marg, had been delayed for two months. Now, seven months later, the work still hasn't progressed.
On Tuesday, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) officials started cleaning the stormwater pipeline, causing sewage water to overflow into nearby homes. Residents were troubled by the bad smell and were unable to leave their houses. A senior citizen, who has been trying to get the work done for the past seven months, asked, "How long will this continue?"
Anand Moolay, a senior citizen, has been trying to get the sewer line work completed. The NMC had approved the work up to Lokmat Square on Balraj Marg but stopped midway, leaving open sewer lines inside homes. Residents near Crescent Hospital were left helpless as the work was left unfinished.
Recently, a contractor dug in front of a home near Crescent Hospital, did some patchy work, and covered the stormwater line with cement. However, sewage from a hospital on Balraj Marg washed away the concrete, and NMC workers broke the pipe, worsening the situation. The contractor left a deep pothole open, causing accidents and blocking traffic. Residents are unable to move around their homes due to the ongoing sewer line work, and the Moolay family is dealing with the bad smell from the unfinished work.
Previously, dirty water had accumulated in the kitchen of Dr. Bhattacharya, who lives near Crescent Hospital. NMC temporarily fixed the pipeline, but it was not a permanent solution. Public Works Department (PWD) engineers attached to NMC are struggling because new construction work buried the pipelines. They are trying to locate and repair the pipelines, expecting to complete the work within a month. Adding to the residents' troubles, a 20-floor building by Concrete Builders is under construction in Dhantoli, raising concerns about future problems.
On Wednesday, the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court criticized NMC about parking issues in Dhantoli. An NMC officer explained to the media that individual construction work had disturbed the pipelines, making them hard to trace and repair. A resident near Bhandarkar Hospital had removed NMC’s sewage chamber and built their own, causing more issues. With extensive road concretization work planned in Dhantoli, connecting to Humpyard Road, the NMC needs to complete the sewer line repairs promptly to avoid future difficulties.
