Mumbai: Santacruz West reels from blackouts, water cuts, gas leak due to ongoing road repairs

Ongoing road concreting work in Santacruz West. Pics/Ashish Raje

The ongoing road concreting work in Santacruz West has turned into a nightmare for residents of TPS 6. Over the past two to three months, they've faced frequent electricity cuts, disrupted water supply and, on Wednesday, a gas leak after a contractor damaged a Mahanagar Gas pipeline while digging up an old road.

Resident Ashin Shah said the repeated digging has severely damaged essential infrastructure - the power supply line has been hit five times, and the water pipeline twice. "The reverse pressure has damaged our main water pumps. Heavy machinery is operated late at night, and large iron pipes were once thrown from a truck onto the road at 1 am. There's no supervision or monitoring on site. It's chaos," he said.

On April 2, things took a dangerous turn when a gas pipeline was damaged around 10.30 am, causing a leak that filled the air with gas. "Despite repeated complaints, the BMC has ignored us. It's a safety hazard for all, especially senior citizens. We demand accountability," Shah added.

Sanjay Patkar, a resident of Bhagyashree Building, said they've had low water pressure for 15 days due to a broken pipeline on Road Number 3. "This road concreting has been a nightmare for the last four months. The JCB being used to dig up the old road is damaging all the utilities. There's no proper monitoring. These pipelines are over 50 years old and can't withstand this rough handling," he said.

Another resident, who did not wish to be named, said, "We welcome development, but not at this cost. Autos have stopped coming from the station due to ongoing work. We face water shortages, power outages, and now a gas leak. The Mahanagar Gas team responded quickly, but the panic was real."

TPS 6's Roads 1, 2, 3, and 5 house 11 to 12 societies, many of which are home to senior citizens. The BMC began road concreting work on Roads 2, 3, and 5 last year.

In an official statement, Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) said it works closely with the BMC and other utility agencies to avoid such incidents. "Before work starts, our team shows the exact underground gas pipeline route. Despite this, the pipeline was damaged," said an MGL official.

A civic official also told mid-day that power supply engineers had marked the cable path prior to excavation.

Dinesh Pallewad, assistant municipal commissioner of H West ward - who took charge just a day before the incident - said, "I will look into the matter."
Chief Engineer of Roads Girish Nikam said, "During the digging work, a representative from the authority responsible for underground utilities is present. Sometimes, these utilities are found at a shallower depth than estimated."

Additional Municipal Commissioner Abhijit Bangar said, "I will check with the officer concerned. If utility lines are repeatedly getting damaged on the same road, we will take appropriate action."

April 2
Day gas pipeline was damaged

‘This is a nightmare'

Ashin Shah, Resident
‘The reverse pressure has damaged our main water pumps. Heavy machinery is operated late at night, and large iron pipes were once thrown from a truck onto the road at 1 am. There's no supervision or monitoring on site. It's chaos'

Sanjay Patkar, Resident of Bhagyashree Building
‘This road concreting has been a nightmare for the past four months. The JCB excavator being used to dig up the old road is damaging all the utilities. There's no proper monitoring. These pipelines are over 50 years old and can't withstand this rough handling'