Water supply pipes have burst for the third time in two weeks in China's northwest city of Baoji, in which tens of thousands of residents have had their water cut off.

Pang Jiayu, who was acting mayor of the city in 1997, was widely blamed for dereliction of duty as he was in charge of the water channelling project at that time. Pan Jiayu was jailed for 12 years for corruption by a court in June.

The 'Beijing News' questions why the substandard pipes are still in use as there have been eleven bursts since the project was completed a decade ago.

According to the local authority, it couldn't finance the reconstruction project due to a shortage of funds.

The paper refutes its sentiments by saying projects relating to people's livelihoods should be regarded as the top priority in urban construction. It says that in a city where the water supply can't be guaranteed, it's nonsense to build any other projects.

The paper notes the local government lacked vision by just repeatedly repairing the pipes, rather than rooting out the incipient faults.

Last week, Baoji Mayor Dai Zhengshe made an apology to residents over the frequently burst pipes, and promised that a new water channelling system would be put into use next year.

While saying it's a good move, the paper asks the local government to take a lesson from past experiences, and preclude corruption in this current project.