In February 2024, the local media reported on the stalled repair and laying of sewer lines in Dhantoli near Baheti Hospital on Balraj Marg. Despite being pending for two months initially, the situation has now stagnated even after seven months. Residents of the area, frustrated and suffering from the repercussions, have voiced their concerns over the worsening conditions.
Recently, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) initiated cleaning work on storm water pipelines, triggering an overflow of sewage into nearby houses. This unforeseen event left residents grappling with foul smell and they could not got out of their house. “How long will this continue,” asked a senior citizen who had been trying to get the work done for the past 7 months.
Anand Moolay, a senior citizen deeply involved in community affairs, explained that the NMC initially approved sewer line work up to Lokmat Square on Balraj Marg. However, they abruptly halted the project upon realizing it might not be necessary. This led to unfinished digging and open sewer lines, causing distress among residents living near Crescent Hospital. With the work left incomplete, the contractor attempted patchy repairs, including covering stormwater lines with cement. Unfortunately, sewage from a nearby hospital washed away this makeshift fix, worsening the situation. Ultimately, NMC officials had to intervene by breaking the pipe, but the underlying issue remains unresolved, leaving residents in a precarious situation.
The contractor left the deep pothole open, creating a risk of accidents. Now, this busy road has this pothole blocking traffic, making it hard for residents to move around. The Moolay family is dealing with bad smells because the sewer line work in their area is still not finished.
Earlier also the dirty water had come out in the kitchen of Dr. Bhattacharya, who lives near Crescent Hospital. The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) fixed the pipeline, but it was only a temporary solution. Engineers from the Public Works Department (PWD) working with NMC are having major problems as the pipelines got dumped because of some new construction work. Now the engi neers say, they are trying to search the pipelines and the repairing work is likely to be over within a month. Residents are also worried about a large 20-floor building being constructed by Concrete Builders in Dhantoli. They fear what might happen once the building is completed. On Wednesday, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court strongly criticized NMC for the parking issue in Dhantoli.
According to local media report the NMC officer told that “Due to some individual construction work, the pipelines were disturbed, some have sunk beneath, making difficult for us to trace and repair them. One resident staying near Bhandarkar hospital removed the NMC’s sewage chamber and constructed of his own. Such sudden disconnection too created problems for us. With lot of road concretisation work has been proposed inside Dhantoli lanes connecting Humpyard road we have to complete the repair work of sewer lines within time. If we don’t complete, it will become difficult for us to do it afterwards.”