The Hindu        27.12.2010

VMC planning to link two water treatment plants

VIJAYAWADA: The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) is contemplating linking Gangiredduladibba 10-MGD plant, which is under construction, and the Ramalingeswara Nagar 10-MGD plant to avoid hindrances in future.

The Corporation began efforts in that direction in view of the problems that cropped up at Ramalingeswara Nagar water treatment plant. As many as nine reservoirs falling under this plant supply water to more than three lakh people.

The VMC is contemplating laying the pipeline at an estimated cost of Rs. 12.84 crore shortly. Of this, Rs. 2.5 crore, officials said, would be met from the funds available under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) programme.

The proposed pipeline is expected to be ready by March 2011.

The Gangiredduladibba plant would draw water from Ryve's canal and treat it for supply to more than three lakh people in the city. The project, officials said, would be completed by March 2011.

Collection well

The collection well of the plant sank by one-and-a-half feet on September 19. Huge cracks developed around the well, sending officials into jitters.

The Corporation used to supply only six MGD water from the plant though installed capacity is 10 MGD. Ever since the problem cropped up, the officials were supplying only 2.5 MGD of water from the plant, while the remaining 3.5 MGD is being supplied from borewells. If the linking of the plants is completed, the VMC would have to draw at least 2.5 MGD from Gangiredduladibba to continue the same amount of water, even while depending on borewells.

The VMC dug five new deep bore wells – two at J.D. Nagar and one each at P&T Colony, Srinivas Nagar Bank Colony and Patamata – as part of the contingency measures. With this, the total number of deep bore wells would touch 29. At present, there are 25 borewells at various locations. The officials reconditioned 11 bore wells as soon as water crises loomed over many parts of the city.

Nine reservoirs

As many as nine reservoirs – one each at Srinivasa Nagar Bank Colony, P&T Colony, Krishnalanka, Veterinary Colony Ranigarithota, Ramalingeswara Nagar and Nelson Mandela Park, and two at JD Nagar – are served by the Ramalingeswara Nagar plant. These reservoirs cater to the needs of population in Krishnalanka, Raningarithota, Patamata, Gunadala, and colonies up to Ayyappa Nagar near Autonagar.

The Hindu     14.12.2010

Desilting of VMC collection well begins

Corporation is now removing the sand manually

Officials are confident that there will not be any problem for the collection well

— Photo: Ch. VIJAYA BHASKAR

At work:The intake well of the Ramalingeswaranagar being desilted with iron buckets in Vijayawada on Monday.

VIJAYAWADA: The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation began desilting works at 10 mgd water treatment plant at Ramalingeswara Nagar here on Monday.

The corporation officials are utilising about 15 workers to bail out the sand that is accumulated in the collection well of the treatment plant. The workers had to wear oxygen masks to reach the bottom of the well. The workers could bail out only 10 to 15 baskets of sand from the well in the six-and-a-half-hours they worked.

In view of depth and darkness, the workers could work only for brief spells in the well. Two workers entered the well at interval of half an hour to remove the sand that has accumulated right up to three metres below the concrete ceiling, and the collection well has a depth of 17 metres. As the exact quantity of sand accumulated at the bottom is not known, the officials guesstimate that it would take at least 10 days to complete the task.

Delayed

The VMC had, earlier, planned to commence the works in first week of December itself. However, it could not execute it due to the sudden and heavy rain that hit the city.

The workers did not turn up, and the officials could not erect necessary equipment and make the necessary arrangements for the de-silting works.

The corporation is now removing the sand manually, though there were proposals to utilise modern machinery. The sand, it is opined, entered the well through a crack in the concrete ceiling.

The corporation received a letter from the expert committee that was constituted to look into problem of the collection well which sank by one-and-a-half feet on September 19.

The experts suggested bailing out the sand from the collection well.

There were doubts of whether the removal of the sand would lead to the further sinking of the collection well, but the experts have suggested that the sand could be bailed out. VMC officials say they are now confident that there would not be any problem for the collection well.