Waterworks pit kills man in city
A 70-year-old man fell into a seven-foot-deep trench which had been dug for laying a drinking water pipeline in Balanagar on Thursday.
Oruganti Chandrashekar Rao was trying to cross the road when he noticed a bus approaching at high speed. He stepped back and into the barricade around the trench. He fell head first into the trench and died on the spot.
Police registered a case against the contractor, who it did not name, and officials of the HMWSSB. While the contractor was not named, the barricades bore the name of Megha Engineering Infrastructure Limited.
Rao, a former operator in a movie theatre and resident of Adarshnagar in Balanagar, was in the habit of visiting the Saibaba temple in IDPL Colony every day.
The temple is located on the other side of the
Rao was about to cross the road when he noticed a bus and stepped back. He took the support of barricades near the pit dug to lay a water pipe when tragedy struck.
road, and he has to cross the busy IDPLBalanagar road. On Thursday, police said, he suddenly noticed a private bus coming at high speed and stepped back. He leaned on the iron barricades placed on the road next to the pit.
“It appeared that the barricade was on the edge of the pit and it could not take his weight. The barricade slipped and he fell along with it into the trench,” a fruit vendor who was witness to the tragedy said.
There are not many takers for the recycled water treated by the Water Board at its 14 sewerage treatment plants. The board has put on sale 710 million litres of grey water per day at `100 to `130 for 5,000 litres.
The water can be used for constructions and to water gardens, among others. The railways and RTC can use the grey water to wash their vehicles.
With few people buying the water, it is mainly being used by the Water Board itself and the GHMC for roadside greenery.
The Water Board had launched an initiative to sell treated sewage water to improve its revenues.
“The treated water is preferably for construction, irrigation and gardening. As of now, not many have come forward to buy it. Water is being sold at a very marginal price but the buyer must pay for tanker and transportation. This must be the reason not many have approached us to buy treated water,” said an official from the Water Board operation and maintenance wing.
The board operates four secondary sewage treatment plants at Amberpet, Nagole, Nallacheruvu, and Attapur, in addition to 14 tertiary treatment plants at Khairatabad, Begumpet, Rangadhamini lake, Pedda Cheruvu, Patel Cheruvu, Mir Alam tank, Saroornagar, Langer Houz, Durgam Cheruvu, Noor Mohammed Kunta, Safilguda, Khaja Kunta, JVR Park, and Krishnakanth Park.