Balaghat (Madhya Pradesh): The quality of water tanks built by a private agency has deprived the officials of the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) of their sleep.
It happened after the collapse of a tank at Thanegaon Panchayat in the Lanji area of the district a few days ago. Now, the department is toiling hard to check the quality of the work.
According to sources, Raisingh & Company constructed 24 water tanks in 20 villages in the Lanji area in 2020-21 under the Nal Jal Mission scheme of the government.
A sum of Rs 19 crore was spent on the construction of the tanks, official sources said. But the collapse of the tank in Thanegaon village has put up a question mark on the quality of the work.
The officials of the department fear that the other tanks may also collapse. At some places, water has not been supplied through the water tanks, but at a few places, tanks have been found leaking. As a result, there is a question mark on the utility of the water tanks.
When the issue was put up before the deputy chairman of the Lanji Janpad Panchayat, Ajay Avsare, he said after the collapse of the water tank in Thanegaon, the tanks in Pausera, Lodama, Devarbeli, and Andhiyatola had been checked.
The water tank, constructed in Pausera three years ago, is continuously leaking, Avsare said.
According to him, many tanks have been constructed in the areas which are away from the human settlements, and many of them are yet to be used. Executive engineer PHED BL Uike said the department began to check the tanks constructed by Raisingh & Company.
The villages, where the water tanks have been constructed, come under the Maoist-his areas. So, the officers and contractors avoid visiting those villages to check the quality of construction. Now, the poor quality of construction has come to light, Uike said.
