Steel 'jackets' on old pipes to halt leaks in Kolkata

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is set to introduce cladding technology — encasing old pipes with a mild steel jacket — to prevent leaks in two major water pipelines that supply Kolkata's nine southern wards.

The two pipes - 27 inches and 12 inches in diameter - which are more than half a century old, will be encased at a cost of Rs 8 crore. With the completion of the project, residents of large parts of Bhowanipore, Hazra Road, Kalighat, Rashbehari Avenue, Lake View Road, Lake Temple Road, Sadananda Road, Kali Temple Road and SP Mukherjee Road can hope to get enough water during the peak of summer. Frequent leaks were reported in these two water pipes.

A proposal to repair these main water pipes from Hazra Road-Asutosh Mukherjee Road junction to railway bridge in Charu market area was presented and approved in the Mayoral Council meeting on Wednesday.

Cladding technology is expected to increase the service life of cast iron pipes, which have experienced several unrepairable leaks. "We will use mild steel jackets on the cast iron pipes, which have aged and leak sometimes. This jacketing technology will strengthen these pipes and is expected to extend the life of the pipes by another 20 years," said a KMC official.

The pipeline has been repaired several times in the recent past. Most recently, the KMC had to shut down the Garden Reach water treatment plant for a day to facilitate the repair of a 27-inch pipeline under SP Mukherjee Road.

"Since these two pipes are considered the backbone of water supply in the main southern districts of Kolkata and due to lack of underground space we cannot replace them with new ones, we decided to use casing technology to prevent colossal wastage of water." ” said an official of the KMC water supply department.