GUWAHATI: A three-member committee has been constituted to probe the incident of burst of a water supply pipe at Kharguli area in Guwahati, Assam on Thursday (May 25).
A notification has been released by the Assam housing and urban affairs department in this regard stating that a three-member panel will launch an enquiry into the incident.
The committee will comprise of: Prabitra Ram Khaund, Secretary to the Govt of Assam DoHUA, Ramendra Sunde Choudhury Retd. Secretary to the Govt. of Assam, PHE Department cum Addl. Mission Director and Sanjai Kr. Mahanta, Retd. Chief Engineer, Irrigation Member Department cum Addl. Mission Director (Admin), AMRUT.
The panel has been given a three-day time to submit a report of its findings.
Meanwhile, the Kamrup-Metro district administration in Assam has also initiated a separate inquiry into the incident.
The inquiry is headed by chief executive member of Kamrup-Metro district disaster management authority CEM Ajit Kumar Sarma.
One woman died and many people sustained injuries in the pipe burst.
The burst resulted in thousand litres of water gushing out of the leaked section of the pipe at brute force.
Many vehicles were swept away by the brute force of the water.
At least 40 houses were also damaged in the incident.
The injured were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment.
The burst took place when valves were opened for testing of water supply through the newly laid pipes.
However, according to a source, the section of the pipe, where the burst took place was not newly laid.
It was, in fact, an old pipe, which was laid by Gammon, even before the JICA took over the project, the source informed.
The pipe was laid back in 2018-19 and was tested then, sources informed Northeast Now.
The affected people have expressed anger over the incident.