The Hindu     21.06.2010

Work to provide box culvert to be delayed

Rajesh B. Nair

— Photo: T. Singaravelou

unfinished: The box culvert underneath the extended portion of the airport runway in Puducherry.

PUDUCHERRY: The work to provide a box culvert to accommodate the sewer line underneath the extended portion of the airport runway here is going on at a slow pace.

The Public Works Department entrusted a contractor with the work to construct the box culvert on November 27, 2009, after the sewer line got damaged during runway extension work.

As per the work order, the contractor was expected to complete the work before May 27 this year. Inquiries by The Hindu revealed that only 50 per cent of work was complete. It would take at least three more months for the works to be completed.

Directive to contractor

When contacted, a senior official of the Public Works Department told The Hindu that the contractor had been asked to speed up the work. “We wanted to complete the work by August. The delay was owing to special nature of the work.

“The ductile pipe, which carries sewage, has to be specially ordered. The pipe is of one-metre diameter,” the officer said.

Once the box culvert is ready, the damaged portion of the runway has to be filled with sand before repairing the runway.

It was reliably learnt that the Airports Authority of India had asked the territorial administration to bear the expenditure towards filling the damaged portion.

The expenditure of the culvert work, Rs. 9.31 crore, would be borne by the Puducherry Tourism Department.

After approval from the government, the Tourism Department had approached the Housing Urban Development Corporation to sanction Rs 9.31 crore as loan, officials said.

The civil works for expanding the 1,280-metre runway by another 220 metre were suspended at the airport in March last year after the sewer line was damaged. But for the damaged portion of the runway, other expansion works have already been completed, they said.

The Hindu      21.06.2010

VMC plans ‘box culvert' in One Town area

Staff Reporter

VIJAYAWADA: The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) is planning construction of an additional outfall drain in the One Town to meet future requirements.

The corporation has prepared a detailed project report (DPR) for constructing a ‘box culvert' parallel to the existing outfall drain near Nizam gate. It is one of the components of modernisation of drainage system in the One Town.

The VMC has asked the State government to consider the One Town problem “as a special case” and release funds required for it. The officials are waiting for the response from the State government.

The corporation is also planning to submit a proposal to the Central government for taking up the outfall drain under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) programme, sources say.

Heavy load

The new outfall drain is mooted in view of “heavy load” on Nizam gate and Gandhi hill outfall drains, which were constructed during the British rule. These outfall drains are not sufficient for flushing out the storm water swiftly. It may be recalled that these drains were choked last year leading to inundation of One Town.

It is learnt that the Railways informed the VMC that it would construct the proposed drain if the requisite amount was deposited to it. The VMC, however, has not yet approached it. Generally, the Railways take up construction if the bridges, flyovers, road over bridges etc pass through its property, officials explain.

Mayor M.V. Ratna Bindu reportedly brought the issue to the notice Animal Husbandry Minister K. Parthasarathy and urged him to use his good offices for the release of funds.

Storm drain

The VMC is also planning to construct a storm drain from Jenda Chettu centre to eastern main canal of the Krishna. The objective of this storm water drain is to prevent the inundation of One Town when it rains heavily.

The VMC estimated that the outfall drain would cost Rs. 1.15 crore while the storm water drain would cost 1.85 crore. The new storm drain would ease the burden on the proposed box culvert also, the officials say.