Indore metro's rainwater pits buried: Rs 2 lakh investment wasted

The Indore municipal corporation has filled up several water recharge pits established by the metro company for the metro corridor. These pits, designed for rainwater to seep into the ground, were found to be closed by soil. They were part of a project to manage water and recharge groundwater along the 17.5 km stretch from Gandhinagar to Robot Square.

According to the Danik Bhaskar report, the metro company built 200 recharge pits for rainwater infiltration and water conservation. Each pit costs about Rs 2 lakh, making this a significant investment in the region’s water management.

The issue arose when the metro company was working between Radisson Square and pillars 151 to 181. Workers had dug the pits, connected the necessary pipes, and were preparing to cover them. To their shock, they found 8 out of 12 pits already filled with soil.

Santosh Deshmukh, vendor responsible for the recharge pits, said, “When we reached to cover the RCC, we found mud on it. We also contacted Vijay Nagar Zone.”

He reported the situation to the metro company officers, who contacted the municipal corporation’s zonal officers for an explanation.

However, the officers initially denied knowledge of the issue. It was only when the metro company presented photos and videos as proof that the corporation acknowledged the mistake.

The metro company is investigating the damage from filling the pits. The work, costing around Rs 16 lakh, seems wasted. The corporation assured the situation will be rectified, but it’s unclear how many pits can be recovered.

The pits were part of a larger project to construct dividers under the metro tracks. The municipal corporation was responsible for the soil work between the dividers. Contractors hired by the corporation had filled the pits with soil, complicating the repair process.

Many pipes connected to the pits are now blocked, making it difficult to reopen them. The metro company warned that some pipes and construction work could be damaged while fixing the issue.

Rajendra Rathore, a municipal corporation member, said, “Soil has been dumped by mistake, we will get it removed.”

He clarified that the soil had been filled only in pits with lids and assured that any mistakes with open pits would be corrected.

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