The Hindu 30.08.2013
All wards will soon be brought under new water scheme
Rs. 221-crore augmentation scheme almost ready for full commissioning
The Rs. 221-crore drinking water augmentation scheme for
the city is almost ready for being fully commissioned, Commissioner
V.P. Thandapani told the Tiruchirapalli City Corporation Council on
Thursday.
The new scheme, with its source at the
Coleroon, aims at ensuring equitable distribution of drinking water to
all parts of the city. The corporation had started supplying water from
the new scheme, still under execution, to some parts of the city.
Responding
to complaints of problems in drinking water supply under the scheme in
some places, Mr. Thandapani said 36 out of the 37 new overhead drinking
water tanks planned under the scheme had been built. Water was being
supplied through 21 of them already. Work on laying pipelines at a
couple of places on State Highways road was expected to be completed
soon. “This will be completed soon and we are almost ready for
commissioning (the scheme),” he said.
However,
Opposition members flayed the civic body for failing to attend to the
problems. K.S. Nagarajan, DMK, complained of problems in supply in wards
52, 53 and 54, especially at Ammaiyappa Nagar, Geetha Nagar, Shanmuga
Nagar, and Kallankadu areas. His party colleague, T. Muthuselvam,
pointed out that the civic body had promised to commission the water
scheme by August but failed to stick to the deadline.
M.
Venkataraj, Independent, wondered why alternative day supply,
introduced during the height of summer, was continued at Subramaniapuram
in his ward.
To questions, Mr. Thandapani said daily
supply had been restored at Marakkadai and Woraiyur areas where
alternative days supply was introduced during summer. Once in two-days
supply was in vogue in a few other places even before the summer.
City
Engineer R. Chandran said additional reservoirs (overhead tanks) built
under the new scheme were intended to overcome the problems in
distribution. However, there were a few problems owing to leaks in the
pipelines.
Mr. Thandapani said it would take about
six months for stabilising the water supply under the new scheme as
problems such as leaks would have to be rectified.
Layouts near rivers
Earlier, a section of the councillors expressed concern over promotion of layouts near water courses and rivers in the city.
S.
Sivasankara Rajavelu of ward 60 said layouts were being promoted close
to the river in his ward and demanded action. Mr. Thandapani directed
officials to take up the matter with the Registration Department.
When
Mr. Nagarajan and a few other councillors pointed out that an apartment
was being built close to the Uyyakondan river near the Ayyappan Temple
in Cantonment, the Commissioner said the building was being built with
approval from the Directorate of Town and Country Planning.
Mr.
Thandapani clarified that a proposal to regularise about 14,500
unapproved plots in the five newly added wards of 61 to 65 had been sent
to the government. Building plan approvals could not be issued for the
unapproved plots until the government responded to the proposal, he
said.
