Udupi: Due to the construction of the National Highway service road, the drinking water supply pipelines within the gram panchayat limits were damaged. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) should undertake the repair and reinstallation work, Udupi-Chikmagalur MP Kota Shrinivas Poojary said.He presided over a meeting held at the deputy commissioner’s office to discuss issues related to the installation of drinking water pipelines in the gram panchayat areas of the Kundapur assembly constituency on Thursday.The NHAI is undertaking various projects for the widening of the highway in the gram panchayat areas of Koteshwara, Gopadi, Kumbhashi, Thekkatte, and Saligrama, Kotathattu, Kota, Manuru, Pandeshwara, and Sasthana in Brahmavar. The public drinking water supply pipelines were damaged, causing inconvenience to the public. The repair work should be prioritised by the NHAI, he said.There is a possibility of further damage to the pipelines in the coming days due to the widening work. Additionally, since the pipelines are located in the middle of the road carriageway, there is a need for separate pipeline installation. Due to the lack of funding from the gram panchayats or the rural development department, the NHAI should undertake the repair and other related works, the MP said.It is appropriate to install new pipeline works in the remaining 2.5m space on the service road instead of the existing pipelines in the middle of the road. The estimated cost for the current repair and installation of new pipelines increased, he said. The rural drinking water and sanitation department engineers were instructed to re-evaluate and provide a proper cost estimate. He directed that the decisions taken under the leadership of the deputy commissioner, be sent to the divisional office of the NHAI.MLAs Yashpal Suvarna and Kiran Kumar Kodgi, deputy commissioner Swaroopa TK and zilla panchayat CEO Prateek Bayal were present.
