Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Water Pipelines Pose Hurdle To Nagar Naka Road Widening

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The flawed work carried out by the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran (MJP) on the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Paithan route now threatens to be repeated on the road stretch from Nagar Naka to Padegaon-Mitmita. The Public Works Department (PWD) is currently undertaking the four-laning of this road at a cost of ₹200 crore.

The road is 30 metres wide, with 15 metres on either side of the centre line. Although water pipelines and other utility infrastructure should have been installed beyond this 15-metre zone, the MJP laid 300 mm-diameter water pipelines just 11 to 12 metres from the road's centre line.

This approach allegedly violates engineering norms. In the future, sections of the concrete road may have to be repeatedly dug up to provide connections to the water pipelines. This raises the question of who will be held responsible for the additional work and expenditure. The MJP has maintained that the contractor executing the roadwork should also be responsible for relocating the pipelines.

Consequently, the PWD has once again written to the Municipal Corporation and the MJP. In its earlier correspondence, the PWD had specified the exact locations and distances along the road-widening stretch where the water pipelines were to be laid.

However, the MJP appears to have overlooked these instructions. Despite knowing that the completed road would connect through Sharanapur to Vanjarwadi and Sahajatpur, and eventually to the Solapur-Dhule Highway at Karodi, the MJP laid the pipelines in a manner that could obstruct the road-widening work.

The ₹200-crore contract has been awarded to GNI Infrastructure, with an 18-month deadline for completion. Within the cantonment area, the road will be 10 metres (30 feet) wide, while the remaining 7.5-km stretch will be 60 feet wide, including the divider. There will also be a 5-metre service road on either side. Around 30 per cent of the roadwork has been completed so far.

The road will provide connectivity to the Samruddhi Mahamarg through both the existing road and the Daulatabad T-point. It is also the route to Ellora.

With the proposed Safari Park expected to attract more tourists, traffic on this stretch is likely to increase further, making its expansion into a four-lane road essential. Meanwhile, attempts to contact MJP officials for their response remained unsuccessful.