COIMBATORE: The drinking water project works under the AMRUT scheme in the Kurichi and Kuniyamuthur areas of Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) has entered its finishing stage.
A senior TWAD Board official told TNIE that the works which commenced several years ago are nearing the completion stage and all the 69 OHTs in Kurichi and Kuniyamuthur have been constructed and are kept ready, adding that a total of 37,742 connections are to be provided to residential units including 19,842 connections in Kurichi and 17,900 connections in Kuniyamuthur area.
“Only a few water pipeline installation works are pending. As a pipeline needs to be installed across the railway track near the Podanur Railway station at Chettipalayam, we have submitted a report to the Southern Railways for its nod. As one portion of the land is 3.5m below the ground level and another portion is higher above the ground level, the railways will be building a box culvert and an overhead steel structure to relay the tracks and for pipeline installation. The file is currently at the DRM (Divisional Railway Manager) office and we expect the railway to complete works by this year-end,” the official added.
The project was initiated at a cost of `165.42 crore after the ward strength in CCMC was as increased from 60 to 100 about a decade ago and several areas including Kurichi, Kuniyamuthur, Saravanampaatti, Vellakinar, Thudiyalur lacked basic amenities. As part of the development works, the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) board officials began constructing a total of 44 Over Head Tanks (OHTs) in Kurichi and 25 OHTs in Kuniyamuthur regions for supplying water to the residential units of the added areas. Also, pipelines are being installed for 69 km in the Kuniyamuthur area and 179 km in the Kurichi region.
Sources said that around 35 MLD of water is required for supplying water to the Kurichi & Kuniyamuthur areas. Currently, only around 10 MLD of water is drawn from Siruvani for both regions due to supply issues. The full quota of water will be supplied once the Pillur 3 scheme is inaugurated next year.
Speaking to TNIE, CCMC Commissioner M Prathap said, “The majority of the works have been completed now. The civic body officials along with the TWAD officials inspected the trail run of the water supply from an OHT in ward 88 of the South Zone. The works will likely be completed by March 2023 next year and water issues in Kurichi & Kuniyamuthur will come to an end.”