Work all set to roll near parthas

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Railways and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have finally entered into a formal agreement for laying the pipelines under the railway tracks at Thampanoor. The green signal for the work was given last month itself and an agreement to this effect was signed a few days back. In fact, the preliminary work for the pipe-laying has already started near Parthas.“The project is all set for a take-off. A joint inspection by the Railway officials and those of the Kerala Water Authority is over,” said an official with the KWA, associated with the Thiruvananthapuram phase of the JICA project. Small excavation work has already started near Parthas.Originally, the work was to begin from the RMS and then reach Parthas on the other side. “We have started from the Parthas side since that was found to be a better option. The pipes will be laid under the tracks using the jack and push method. We are making the retaining wall, which is meant to withstand the force which comes when the pipe-pushing happens,” said an official with L&T, which is the contractor of the project.A total of 96 m of pipeline has to be laid, including 67 m under the railway tracks and the rest across the road. The pipelines have to pass under 11 tracks, including the shunting lines. JICA will use trenchless technology to avoid the traffic problems. The technology involves scooping out and removal of earth, followed by laying of pipes through the tunnel that is dug. The jack and push method will be primarily used for the tunnelling. A 6 m-long, 1,218 mm-wide, 20 mm thick Mild Steel pipe will be pushed in first. The excavation can be either mechanical or manual.  It is to be remembered that this particular work had come to a standstill after the Railways opposed the laying of the pipelines under the railway tracks citing safety reasons. This had eventually seen L&T threatening to back out of the project. It was after much deliberations and discussions initiated by KWA MD Asok Kumar Singh that the work was given a green signal, that too after holding the soil-testing experiment at the site. After the test, it was agreed to lay the pipes at a depth of 4.5 m, instead of the earlier fixed depth of 3 m.The interesting aspect is that the equipment and material for tarring the Parthas road has already reached the site. The tarring work has been put on hold for the time being, a KWA official said.