Khargone (Madhya Pradesh): In an unforeseen incident, thousands of gallons of water, supposed to be supplied to Indore and its neighbouring areas, were spilled in the agriculture fields after a Narmada pipeline burst in Khargone.
The incident, which occurred around 11 am on Tuesday, was sparked by an unusual trigger- an electrical fault, allegedly caused by a squirrel.
The aftermath of this rupture has been nothing short of catastrophic, resulting in extensive damage to crops and properties, underscoring the vulnerability of vital infrastructure to even the most unlikely of causes.
The burst pipeline unleashed a towering fountain of water, reaching a staggering height of 40 feet, wreaking havoc on standing crops, particularly banana and gram crops, and leaving farmers in utter dismay.
The severity of the situation escalated as enraged farmers, grappling with monumental losses, obstructed officials and technical teams from the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department and Cheema Tech Company from accessing the site. This compelled the officials to retreat to the PHE office in Mandleshwar, where higher authorities were promptly informed of the unfolding crisis.
SDO DS Chauhan, among the first responders at the scene, indicated that the full extent of the damage and the specific pipeline affected could only be gauged once the water flow subsided. The rupture occurred between the Narmada Ghat intake well and the old filter station, impacting the pipelines of the first, second, and third phases.
Expressing his anguish over the repeated setbacks, farmer Akshay Singh Kushwaha demanded a compensation of Rs 50 lakh, citing the loss of his banana crop valued at the same amount. He also highlighted previous losses incurred due to a pipeline burst last year, for which no compensation has been forthcoming.
In response, authorities from the Revenue and Horticulture Department promptly descended on the affected fields to assess the damage.
However, access to the site has been denied to the PHE department team until compensation is formally announced. Investigations into the incident are ongoing, with leakage and other factors under scrutiny.
Assuring swift action, Anil Jain, SDM of Mandleshwar, disclosed that discussions were underway with officials from the Indore Municipal Corporation. He confirmed that the matter had been forwarded to the revenue department for further deliberation. Additionally, he assured that a survey was being conducted to ascertain the losses and that the compensation would be disbursed through the Indore Municipal Corporation.
