Communication Paralysis? Bengaluru Traffic Woes Worsen As Namma Metro Drilling Damages GAIL Pipeline

International Tech Park Main Road and the areas around it witnessed massive traffic jams on Monday (29 October) as a GAIL India gas pipeline was breached in the Namma Metro work in Garudacharpalya.

BMRLC (Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation) was conducting precautionary drilling in the area for beginning piling work for phase II of Namma Metro when the breach happened around 4:30 am.

Police arranged alternative routes via Marathalli and Kundalahalli, and cordoned off the area after the leak. A case has been registered by the Mahadevpura police to ascertain if the BMRCL obtained the proper drilling permissions.

According to a GAIL Gas official, the flow of gas was stopped as soon as the leak was reported. Ajay Seth, Managing Director of BMRCL, said that the restoration of the pipeline would be completed by afternoon. "The breach occurred during this exercise in the night. We will get a detailed update on the location of GAIL pipelines in the area," he said.

The traffic meanwhile however, had piled up at Devasandra, Outer Ring Road, ITPL Main road before the police could cordon it off.