PHED officials and workers carrying out ongoing restoration on the 150 mm main water transmission pipeline that supplies Zunheboto Town from the Melahu treatment plant. (Photo Courtesy: PHED Zunheboto)
Morung Express News
Zunheboto | September 8
The repair and restoration work on the Yezami village road at Arkha’s Coffee Farm (Tizu Bridge), which was severely damaged by a landslide on July 20, has been completed, restoring an important connectivity link between the Sub-Divisional towns of Aghunato and Suruhoto.
However, the restoration of the main water supply pipeline to Zunheboto Town is still underway, according to information received from officials of the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), Zunheboto.
The landslide had severely damaged the 150 mm main water transmission pipeline (Seamless High Pressure Pipeline), which serves as the sole dependable water supply line for Zunheboto Town. The pipeline carries water from Ngozubo and Melahu villages to the PHED reservoir at North Point Colony.
The approximately 37-kilometre pipeline runs from the water treatment plant at Melahu to the PHED reservoir, which has a capacity of around 4 lakh litres. The damage to this critical line had raised serious concerns over the town’s water supply, with Zunheboto having no other comparable alternative source.
The road restoration was taken up following the intervention of MLA and Advisor K. Tokugha Sukhalu (IAS Rtd), who took up the matter on priority and contributed Rs. 1 lakh towards the road restoration work, as per the information received here.
The District Administration, Zunheboto, coordinated and facilitated the restoration process, while the PHED and PWD, Zunheboto, extended necessary support for the repair and restoration works.
The latest development is significant as access to the affected area had earlier been one of the major challenges faced by the department. The landslide had not only damaged the pipeline but also destroyed a large portion of the road and surrounding land, making the affected site difficult to access.
Earlier, PHED officials had indicated that restoration of the water pipeline could take more than a month, owing to the extent of the damage, difficult terrain, the loss of the original pipeline alignment and the requirement for specialised high-pressure pipes.
The department had also stated that the original alignment could not be immediately reused as the affected stretch had become unstable, necessitating the identification of a new alignment for the pipeline.
With the Yezami Village Road now restored, attention has shifted to the completion of the pipeline repair. The restoration of the waterline remains crucial for resuming regular water supply services to Zunheboto Town.
