Narmada-Kshipra pipeline bursts in Mhow

Indore: A high-pressure Narmada-Kshipra pipeline burst near Bherughat on Indore-Khandwa road on Sunday morning causing flooding and property damage in the nearby areas.

The rupture resulted in a water jet gushing nearly 150 ft in the air and touching overhead high-tension electrical cables causing fault in power line.

According to Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA) executive engineer, Lalit Verma, the rupture was triggered by an electrical fault that abruptly stopped a motor pump. “The sudden shutdown caused a back-pressure surge from three connected pumps across the pipeline section laid between Simrol and Bherughat, blowing water out through a manhole,” he told TOI.

Sources said that approximately 5 cumec (cubic meters per second) of water was discharged for almost an hour.

The pipeline feeds water to Simrol, Dewas, and Pithampur Industrial Area. NVDA officials said that repair operations began immediately and regular supply was likely to resume later in night without causing long-term structural disruptions to the connected networks.

According to the locals, the pipeline burst at around 7:30 am, sending water and large stones into a dozen of houses nearby. The force of the flow damaged tin roofs and flooded the houses destroying household goods including stored ration. A mud house belonging to Ramesh Kohli, a watchman at a nearby forest department nursery, was swept away along with a tin shed of a roadside eatery.

The flow subsided by 8:30 am after supply valves were closed.

Residents alleged that minor leaks had been visible along the pipeline route for several days. Despite raising complaints with the concerned department, no preventive maintenance was performed.

In Indore, an unauthorized late-night drilling operation by a private firm in Sri Yantra Nagar (Sector C), damaged a Narmada water supply pipeline and Avantika gas pipeline . When supply commenced on Sunday morning, thousands of litres of treated water flooded the streets for over half an hour before valves were closed. Locals said that the excavation compromised structural stability, causing nearby electricity poles to tilt.