One scorching May morning, Segment Head – North & West, WET IC, Jyotsna Gautam, stood squinting into the desert heat near Nachna, Jaisalmer – just 30 kilometers from the India-Pakistan border. Behind her lay the skeleton of one of Rajasthan’s most ambitious infrastructure projects, the RGLC Phase III Bulk Water Supply Project; ahead, the unknown.
Things had been in cruise control at site with a 400-strong workforce when unexpectedly, almost out of the desert heat, things started to spin out of control: the Pahalgam terrorist attack led to escalating border tensions, followed by India’s response – Operation Sindoor – that resulted in exchange of firing, blackouts, drone attacks. The desert had suddenly turned volatile.
“It felt like the ground was shifting beneath us,” Jyotsna recalls, no stranger to tough challenges. “But our objective was clear, protect our people, protect the project.”
The uniquely vulnerable RGLC Phase III Project with 50% of it lying within a 100 km radius of the international border, is being executed for PHED Rajasthan involving laying 216 km of massive MS pipelines, constructing four raw water vertical turbine pump houses, and securing water supply for over 76 lakh people in the Jodhpur district up to the year 2054.
Even as the threat intensified in early May, Jyotsna activated an Emergency Response Plan on May 6 and backed by the site and L&T’s Crisis Management teams, she ensured that communication lines stayed open, safety protocols followed, and essential supplies stocked at all camps.
“Leadership in a crisis isn’t about having all the answers,” she points out astutely. “It’s about showing up, staying grounded, and making people feel safe.”
On May 8, with drone strikes reported in close vicinity, the site was immediately evacuated with more than 400 workmen and employees moved to safety within 48 hours, a massive effort that called for clarity, coordination, and courage.
The evacuation had its psychological costs. Over 90% of the workforce chose to return home, shaken by the experience. Undeterred, Jyotsna began planning to remobilize, knowing that the project’s timelines were non-negotiable, and more importantly, the local people, depended on it.
“You can’t rebuild momentum without rebuilding trust,” she reflects. “And trust comes from action.”
Her team rolled out a series of workforce-first measures such as dedicated camps close to the pump house sites to cut travel time; dedicated mobile internet towers from Airtel to ensure connectivity; rearranged shift timings with a mandatory rest break from 12 PM to 4 PM; air-cooled accommodations and daily provision of ORS, and buttermilk. There was also round-the-clock ambulance service on-site for any health emergencies. “When people know they matter, they return – not just physically, but emotionally,” says Jyotsna.
While some parts of the site paused, others pushed on, most notably, the complex trenchless NH-11 crossing near Phalodi that involved laying 3.1-meter casing pipes under a live highway using the jack pushing method. With hard rock and tough strata limiting daily progress to just 400–500 mm, it was slow and painstaking work but executed safely with sufficient ventilation, measures to detect any gas leaks and 100% compliance to SOPs. “Whether it’s above ground or below, people need to feel secure in the systems that protect them and have confidence in their leaders,” she smiles, resolutely.
Facing the crisis with elan, virtually under fire, Jyotsna has set a sterling example of leading from the front showing presence, maintaining calmness and inspiring confidence.
As the pipeline inches closer to completion and life slowly returns to normal at the site, what remains is more than just steel and concrete. It is the resilience of a team and the strength of a project head who showed up when it mattered most.