Shillong, Oct 15: Deficient standards in the quality of Shillong’s infrastructure again came to the fore today after a large water pipe burst in the busy Polo area during the evening rush hour, inundating the area and causing damage to vehicles.
The sudden gush of water was powerful enough to sweep people off their feet and lead to cars and two-wheelers to collide. The number of injuries, if any, was not known at the time of filing this report. Traffic was heavily disrupted and the area below Hotel Polo Towers was inundated with water.
Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department officials said the burst was due to testing of water coming from Mawphlang under the Shillong Water Supply Scheme – Greater Shillong Project.
Leaky pipes are all too common across the length and breadth of the state but not usually on this scale.
Officials said water from the 300mm diameter ductile iron pipe supplies Mawpat and Nongmensong.
This is the second such incident in under a month. On September 25 a feeder line burst in the Golf Link area, showering passing vehicles and pedestrians with a heavy stream of water.
And last year, in December, the National Highway and Infrastructure Development Corp Ltd (NHIDCL) was blamed for damaging the water line that provides much of Shillong with its supply, leaving the city short of precious H2O for several days during the dry season.
