The Hindu 05.01.2011
Corporation begins storm water drain project in Coimbatore
Staff Reporter
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Rainwater will drain into Kovilmedu Pallam and Sanganur Pallam |
Photo: M. Periasamy
Getting ready: Stormwater drain work in progress at Kovilmedu in
Coimbatore. –
COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore Corporation has begun the storm water
drain project, providing the much-needed relief from flooding to
residents.
The civic body is implementing the Rs. 180-crore project in seven
packages in 31 zones under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal
Mission (JNNURM).
Engineers looking after the implementation of the JNNURM projects say
rainwater collected from the areas will be drained into Kovilmedu
Pallam, Sanganur Pallam, Ganapathy Pallam and a few other natural drains
and from there to the lakes that dot the city’s landscape.
In implementing the project, the engineers have divided the city’s 72 wards into 112 zones.
In the first phase, the storm water drain project is being
implemented in only 31 zones, covering eight wards in full and 42 wards
in part.
They have further divided the first phase into seven packages, which
are being implemented in areas where the underground drainage facility
is available.
Storm water from the areas will be implemented into Kovilmedu drain,
the channel draining water into Selva Chinthamani tank, Sanganur Pallam
and the channel draining water into Valangkulam tank.
The engineers say they are concrete lining the drains till the depth
is 90 cm and using reinforced concrete thereafter. A total of 731 km of
drain will be constructed in this phase.
K. Boopathy, Superintending Engineer, says the width of the drains
has been decided based on rainfall in the catchment area. “The engineers
studied the rainfall intensity and topography before deciding on the
width. They also took into account the slope of the area the drain will
cover.”
The civic body’s original proposal to the Union Government was for
Rs. 1,082 crore and that included concrete lining all the natural drains
within the city limits.
The aim was to cover 40 km, says Mr. Boopathy. The proposal did not come through, though.