The Hindu 24.08.2011
Corporation plans major water supply projects
PROPOSAL SENT: Coimbatore Corporation is planning to go in for a second
tunnel under Periyakombai hill to pump more Pilloor water. File Photo:
K. Ananthan
To improve supply in city as well as in areas to be annexed
Coimbatore Corporation has lined up a couple of projects
to improve water supply for not only the city but also for areas to be
annexed. And thereby ensure parity in supply.
Official
sources say that as per the Government of India norms the Corporation
has to supply 135 litres per capita per day (lpcd) to residents within
the city limit.
In keeping with the norms, it will
have to supply the same quantity for residents of the three
municipalities, seven town panchayats and a village panchayat as soon as
they become a part of the Coimbatore Corporation.
To
do so the Corporation will require additional water as the residents in
municipalities at present get only 110 lpcd, those in town panchayats
get only 90 lpcd and those in village panchayats get 70 lpcd.
One
of the projects the civic body is planning to take up is digging a
second tunnel under the Periyakombai hill to convey Pilloor water. If
the project is implemented, the Corporation will be able to convey an
additional 265 million litres a day (mld).
As such
there exists a tunnel, dug by the then Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, for
ferrying the water. The tunnel has the capacity to carry 265 mld but is
conveying only a little over 130 mld, which is the quantity of water
pumped under the Pilloor Phase I scheme. Once the corporation completes
the Pilloor Phase II scheme, the tunnel will be used to the full, as
another 130 mld will be conveyed through it.
The
sources reason that for requirements in the future, the Corporation will
have to pump in more water from the Pilloor Dam. And that cannot be
done without an additional tunnel.
The Corporation
sources say the second tunnel will be as long as the first tunnel – 3.85
km – and is likely to be separated from the first tunnel by 90 m.
The cost for digging the second tunnel has been estimated to be around Rs. 20 crore.
The
sources say the Corporation has sent a proposal in this regard to the
State Government on April 27, 2011. Once the Government gives the nod,
the Corporation will prepare a detailed project report, forward the same
to the Government, get its approval, float tender and then award the
work.
