The Hindu              26.12.2013

TWAD Board to improve water supply in added areas

Within the next two months, the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board will improve water supply to Thudiyalur, Chinna Vedampatty, Saravanampatty, Kalapatti and Vellakinaru – areas that recently merged with the Coimbatore Corporation.

According to sources in the TWAD Board, the organisation was in the final stages of completing the scheme to improve and augment water supply to not only the aforementioned areas but also a number of wayside habitations and the Palladam Municipality, all of which enjoy water under the Pilloor I combined drinking water supply scheme.

The Board would utilise the 65 MLD (million litres a day) water it would get from the Coimbatore Corporation, which would surrender the same as it had implemented and commissioned a dedicated drinking water supply scheme.

The sources said that with the Board supplying water to the aforementioned Corporation areas, the supply would increase from 70 to 135 LPCD (litres per capita a day). Likewise, it would also increase the supply from 70 – 135 LPCD to 16 of the 23 town panchayats that were covered under the scheme and also to the Palladam Municipality.

The increase in water supply to the Municipality would make it eligible for the implementation of underground sewerage system as 135 LPCD was required to meet the minimum self cleansing velocity required.

The Board, in the process of augmenting the supply under the scheme, had also included 442 village habitations to take the total habitations covered to 965. To each of the village habitations, it would serve water at 40 LPCD.

But to convey the water to the wayside habitations and Palladam Municipality, the Board would require another seven – eight months as it would have to take the new pipeline alongside the National Highway after seeking the Central Government’s permission.

Even as it went about implementing the scheme, the Board had started commissioning the supply of water in the areas close to source – S.S. Kulam Town Panchayat, village habitations in the S.S. Kulam Panchayat Union, Periyanaickenpalayam and a few other areas.

Programmes

The sources added that the Board implemented the scheme at Rs. 224.92 crore with funds under the Minimum Need Programme, National Rural Drinking Water Programme, Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission and the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns schemes.