First phase of pipe-laying at Museum completed

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The pipe-laying work at Museum Junction as part of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-aided water supply project has completed an important phase. According to officials with Electrosteel, the contractor of the work, the pipelines have been taken from one side of the road to other.    Without cutting open the road, pipelines were laid using trenchless technology from an open trench to reach inside the Museum compound. This work got over on Monday. The total distance covered is 30 m. “This line would be connected with the line which we had already laid inside the Museum compound. “We are awaiting permission to cut open the earth so that the two lines can be joined,” said an official with Electrosteel. The work ought to have got over 10 days back. But the soil is very hard and it was not easy to bore through the earth, he added.Meanwhile, the contractor has commenced laying of pipes from the same open trench to the other side, that is towards the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) compound using the same technology. The total distance to be covered is 30 m here as well. “But this work would get over fast since the soil is not hard here. The deadline set is October 30, but we are hopeful of finishing it before that,” the official said.Nine Tracks CrossedPipes have been laid under nine out of the 11 tracks under the railway tracks at Thampanoor. According to Larsen and Tourbo, the contractor, 47 m has been covered.