Construction of the pumping station for Tiruverumbur water supply improvement scheme has encountered yet another hurdle due to release of water in the Cauvery.
The ₹63.7 crore project, which was started in 2016, is being executed in three phases. It is aimed at supplying totally 27 MLD and 135 litres of drinking water per head to the residents of newly-added areas of Tiruchi City Corporation. Hamlets belonging to Tiruverumbur town panchayat, Kilakalkandarkottai panchayat and Pappakurichi panchayat are among the areas to be benefited from the project funded by the German Development Bank.
The Corporation had divided the project into three phases so as to execute it as early as possible. While tasks such as laying of pumping mains and supply mains were drafted in Phase-I, construction of overhead tanks formed part of Phase II. In phase III, a collector well in the Cauvery riverbed near Melur, pumping station and bridge to carry the pumping main from the pumping station to Kambarasampettai would be established.
While works in first two phases have been completed, the phase III works has been facing hurdles right from the beginning. The Corporation had to conduct several peace committee meetings to convince the farmers of Melur, who opposed the project to source water from the Cauvery. It took several months to get the mandatory clearance from the Public Works Department to construct the pumping station on the riverbed. The construction of the pumping station began only in 2019, more than three years after the issuance of work order.
But the work had to be halted frequently due to various reasons - mainly due to flow of water in the river for longer periods in 2019, 2020 and 2021. After a long gap, the contractor began the pumping station construction about two months ago. The early release of water from Mettur dam has again caused hurdles in continuing the work.
A senior official of Corporation told The Hindu that it was not possible to carry out construction work on the collector well in the riverbed when the river had a steady flow of water. Hence it had been halted temporarily. Considering the importance of completing all works so as to supply drinking water to the residents of wards 61, 62, 63, 64, and 65 within December, it had been decided to seek expertise from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. Based on their advice, the collector well work would be taken up.
However, the work of constructing a bridge to form a pumping main from the pumping station had not been halted. The technology of erecting piers through prefabricated structures would be followed.
Into the hinterland
Published - May 31, 2022 06:13 pm IST
