NILGIRIS: After a wait of more than six years, TANGEDCO is set to start in the coming days the work on laying high-tension underground (UG) electric cable to the pumping station at the Parsons Valley Reservoir near Ooty. The necessary approval in this regard has been received from the central government.
The Rs 6.02-crore project will help provide uninterrupted water supply to residents of Udhagamandalam (Ooty) town, 12 kilometres from the reservoir. Also, underground cable will not harm animals unlike the overhead one.
As the work has to be carried out in forests with tiger and their prey, TANGEDCO clarified that there won't be any hindrance to wildlife movement as the cable is to be laid one metre deep in the ground.
Underground cabling is necessary to obviate snapping of power lines by falling trees during winds and rains which in turn disrupts drinking water supply to Udhagamandalam residents for three to four days.
TANGEDCO officials said in such situations they can't carry out power restoration works after 5pm due to wildlife movements and this prolongs resumption of pumping at Parson Valley by three to four days.
"The years of delay were due to getting approval from the forest department as the cable is to be laid inside the forest area for 4.2 km. We applied to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change through the portal parivesh.nic.in and got approval recently. We paid an additional Rs 38 lakh as fees to the forest department alone," said a senior official of the TANGEDCO.
Nilgiris MP A Raja broke ground for the underground cabling work at the site last week.
The work will commence in the coming days and will be completed within the next two months, said sources.
Sources in the forest department said the second stage of approval is expected on the central government portal in the coming days and then the work will commence.
Work materials are being unloaded at the site.
According to Udhagamandalam Municipal Commissioner M Ganesan "Currently, we are supplying 14 millions of liters (MLD) of water to the 1.10 lakh residents, including the floating population had to be halted for up to three days due as pumping of water from the Parson Valley Dam was not possible as power went off. Once this work is completed, the residents will get uninterrupted drinking water supply."