JCB breaks municipal pipeline on Shajapur urban highway, water enters two shops

A municipal water pipeline burst in Shajapur on Wednesday after it was hit by a JCB machine during work to remove electric poles on the urban highway. Water flowed on the road for about an hour and entered two shops.

The work, near the Janpad Panchayat office, was being carried out by the PWD. After the pipeline burst, the road filled with water and the surroundings turned muddy.

Widening work has been under way on the urban highway for a long time, and both sides of the road have been dug up for it. The construction has made it difficult to reach the shops nearby.

Traders said they have been troubled for about a year. According to them, dust rises through the day because of the road construction and digging, making it hard both to sit in the shops and for customers to come and go. No alternative route or arrangement has been made for reaching the shops either.

The traders said development work is necessary, but construction agencies should keep in mind the difficulties of the public and shopkeepers while working. Already troubled by the long-running work, they said, repeated incidents of this kind are adding to their problems.

The traders have demanded that the departments concerned speed up the construction work and make proper alternative arrangements for reaching the shops.