Zunheboto lone water supply mainline (150 mm pipe) damaged following a major landslide along the Tizu Bridge–Yezami Road on July 20. (Morung Photo)
PHED says repair work likely to exceed one month
Morung Express News
Zunheboto | July 25
The Zunheboto lone water supply mainline (150 mm pipe) had been extensively damaged following a major landslide along the Tizu Bridge–Yezami Road on July 20, disrupting the town’s water supply with many public raising concern of the issue about the water supply in Zunheboto.
Considering the water crisis in the town, the situation has worsened poorly as a lone dependable water supply in the town has been completely cut off for the past few days. For many years Zunheboto Town has been sourcing its water supply from this very source without any other alternative water source.
Speaking to the media, Sub-Divisional Officer, PHED Zunheboto, Er Beto T Jimo, said restoration of the water supply is expected to take more than a month as both the main pipeline and road connectivity have been severely damaged.
‘The landslide has rendered the site inaccessible, making repair and reinstatement of the damaged infrastructure extremely challenging,’ he explained.
Jimo said the damaged pipeline is the only water supply line that brings water from Ngozubo and Melahu villages to Zunheboto town. The seamless high-pressure pipeline, installed many years ago, stretches 37 kilometres from the water treatment plant at Melahu to the PHED Water reservoir Tank (4 Lakh liter capacity) located at North Point colony, Zunheboto.
He stated that the department requires around 40 to 50 sections of the same specialised pipe, which is difficult to procure as it was originally sourced on special request from a company in Bombay (Mumbai) due to its ability to withstand high water pressure. He noted that ordinary water pipes cannot be used as replacements because they would not be able to withstand the pressure in the transmission line.
According to Jimo, a large portion of land where the pipeline was laid has been washed away, while the Yezami Road has also been completely destroyed. PHED personnel have been working continuously to retrieve the pipeline buried and washed away by the landslide, managing to recover 10 pipe sections after three to four days of effort.
He further said that the pipeline cannot be reinstalled along its original alignment because the entire stretch has become unstable. A new alignment will have to be identified to divert the pipeline, although the proposed area passes through a coffee plantation, posing additional challenges for the department.
Jimo also emphasised that Zunheboto has no alternative water source, making the restoration work a top priority despite the difficult terrain and logistical constraints.
The department stated that repair work can only commence after the damaged road is cleared and access to the affected site is restored and with the availability of the pipe.
PHED Zunheboto has appealed to all consumers and the general public to remain patient, bear with the inconvenience, and extend their cooperation until normal water supply services are fully restored.
As per the report published in The Morung Express on January 31, Er Beto T Jimo, SDO, PHED Zunheboto, noted that there are approximately 1,300 PHED water consumers with a meter base billing system in the town.
