Road digging is a very common feature in the commercial capital of Goa. Margao’s roads and being dug round the year for either laying pipelines, cables or maintenance and repairs of lines. The distinct lack of co-ordination among government agencies was exposed hollow after a water pipeline ruptured near Gomant Vidya Niketan earlier this week. Nearly one third of Margao went without water, power and telephone connectivity following the rupture of this three-decade old water pipeline. To make matters worse, around 1250 telephones went dead in the city after a telephone cable had to be cut to pave way for the repair of the ruptured pipeline. Power supply was switched off as a precautionary measure since the underground cable was lying just above the damaged water pipeline. The incident exposed a clear lack of planning and coordination between respective departments while doing the ‘ground work’. The bigger worry is there is no plan to the underground works in Margao. There could be alarming situation if a power transformer is found stationed just above an underground water pipeline. Or there could be telephone cables overlapping a water pipeline or the underground power cable. Some years ago sewage water had entered a water pipeline in the city, again raising a scare among residents. In situations like these a plan would help to identify and rectify problem areas immediately. The administration should on an urgent basis seek the help of an agency and undertake mapping of underground lines to get exact information and details of what lies underneath. Going forward, mapping would help in further underground cable works .
