THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The KWA pump house at Kuriathy sewerage section will get a new 400 KW generator, as part of the flood mitigation operation being carried out in the city. While KWA top officials reason that the generator is most essential to ensure continuous pumping out of drainage water, some insiders say that the generator will not make much of a difference.
KWA Managing Director Ajit Patil, after a site visit with the Chief Secretary, said that it has been decided to install a generator at Kuriathy sewerage section, so that the overflowing drains won’t cause inconvenience to people in the surrounding areas. The new generator unit is estimated to cost around Rs 50 lakh.
The volume of water which gets collected at Kuriathy pump house, during heavy rains, is usually well above its 40 mld capacity. As stormwater from most compounds is directed to drainage channels, manholes overflow and low-lying areas get flooded. In this background, it is important that the pumphouse works without a disruption. The generator will help ensure this.
However, sources in KWA say that there is no need for a generator as instances of power disruption are rare and of short duration. They say that there is a dedicated power supply from a 110 kV line to the pumping station, which rarely shuts down, and last year, there has not even been one example of power failing for an hour.
There are also questions on how well the new generator will be maintained. Kuriathy pumphouse has an old generator, which has been lying unused for over a decade. Two other generators are gathering dust at Inchakkal pump house.
According to insiders, a cash-strapped KWA cannot afford the maintenance and diesel cost of these generators.
So, when a new generator is to be installed, it remains to be seen whether the cost of consumables like diesel, will be included in the funds of the flood mitigation scheme.
The power generated at the old unit at Kuriathy, if at all it is repaired, will only be sufficient for lighting purposes at the pump house, according to KWA officials. It will not be enough to run the pumps at the pump house.
Kuriathy pump house collects sewage from sub-pumping stations in Mudavanmugal, Arannoor and Thaliyal and pumps it out to Muttathara Sewage Treatment Plant. The pumping station works to its maximum capacity during monsoon. But stormwater is not supposed to be directed to drainage lines.
If necessary measures are taken to ensure that water from compounds are not directed to drainage lines, part of the problem can be solved, according to experts.