Chandigarh, Oct. 28 -- In a first, the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC) has started using the CIPP (Cured-In-Place Pipe) liner method-employing hot water or steam-to clean, rehabilitate, and strengthen the ageing sewer network. The civic body has allocated Rs.14 crore for the first phase, which will de-silt and reline approximately 10 km of pipelines. The initiative comes after the UT administration rejected the MC's proposal to overhaul the entire 600-km-long sewer network at a cost of Rs.600 crore, compelling the corporation to take up the massive task in a phased manner over the next five years.

Officials said the project includes large-scale de-silting, structural lining, and repair of pipelines weakened by decades of use, heavy...