Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation will suspend Narmada water supply from the Jaspur Water Treatment Plant on November 16 to repair a major valve and shift a water pipeline, affecting parts of Gota, Bodakdev, Thaltej, Bopal, Ghuma, Sarkhej and Maktampura. The civic engineering department has said regular supply is expected to resume from November 18, although residents may continue to experience reduced pressure and disruption that day.
The work involves two separate sections of the trunk water network being repaired together so that residents in the newly incorporated western areas do not face water cuts on different days. One repair concerns a 1,300-millimetre valve near Lilapur village and Lilapur Lake. The valve’s speed rod has deteriorated and will be replaced, requiring the water supply through the line to be stopped.
The second operation involves a 750-millimetre mild steel main line near Amber Tower and Classic Home on the road from Cadila Circle towards the APMC. The pipeline is obstructing drainage rehabilitation work and will have to be shifted. The municipal authorities have decided to coordinate both operations during the same shutdown.
According to details attributed to officials of the municipal water project department, water will be supplied in the morning on November 16 to the affected distribution areas before the shutdown. Supply will then be stopped in areas where water is distributed through the staggered system.
The affected network includes TP 55 in the Gota ward, Rajpath TP 50 in the Bodakdev ward, Bhadaj TP 406 and Hebatpur TP 53-A in the Thaltej ward, as well as Shela, Bopal and Ghuma. In the southwest zone, all water distribution stations in the Sarkhej-Maktampura ward are expected to be affected.
The civic body has said that 12 water distribution stations will be filled before supply from Jaspur is stopped. Borewells will also be operated as needed. However, officials have indicated that residents may not receive adequate water quantity or pressure during the interruption.
The disruption could extend beyond the scheduled repair period. Although the municipal department has stated that supply will return to normal from November 18, the effects of the shutdown may still be felt that day as the distribution system is restored.
A separate leak has also been reported in the Maktampura ward on a 700-millimetre round-the-clock water line supplying the Muskan Garden, APMC and Sankalitnagar water distribution stations. Around 15 metres of the line needs to be replaced. A temporary repair has currently been carried out, according to the report.
The Jaspur plant supplies treated Narmada water to Ahmedabad’s northwest and southwest zones. The water network was initially developed by the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority for the area then identified as the new west zone. After the area was brought within the municipal limits, the corporation undertook additional treatment capacity at Jaspur and laid main lines along the new ring road. The November 16 shutdown is linked to maintenance and network modification work on this expanded system.
