KATHMANDU, March 4: Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) confirmed that a water pipe of Melamchi Water Supply Project burst at Thapathali on Tuesday morning, resulting in the wastage of around half a million liters of water.
Earlier on February 12, a similar incident at Babarmahal resulted in the loss of 1 million liters of water supplied by the Melamchi Water Supply Project. However, this time, the authorities resolved the issue quickly after the earlier incident caused a massive uproar.
Melamchi pipe burst in Thapathali, road blocked (In Pictures)
Prakash Kumar Rai, the spokesperson for KUKL, stated that the Nepal Electricity Authority was responsible for the pipe burst at Babarmahal but they are still studying the cause of the breakage at Thapathali, while suspecting high water pressure might have caused the pipe to burst.
A technical team of the KUKL has been examining the situation in the Thapathali area after the incident. Rai also noted that a contaminated water pipe was found damaged in the same area. The KUKL stated that it had purchased the pipes after conducting a third-party inspection. If human error caused any issues, the team will address them, said Rai.
The KUKL said it has already managed the broken pipe at Thapathali. Spokesperson Rai stated that water distribution in the area will return to normalcy within a few days.
The KUKL also mentioned that many pipes face issues when government bodies unrelated to water supply dig roads without coordination. Additionally, high water pressure sometimes causes such problems.
