The Hindu               27.06.2013

Rain hits KWA project

The strong monsoon has dealt a huge blow to the work
taken up by Kerala Water Authority (KWA), with the regular showers
stalling work on a Rs.50-crore project to replace the 1,200-mm
pre-stressed concrete (PSC) transmission mainline from Aruvikkara to
Peroorkada with mild steel (MS) pipes for the last three weeks.

A
senior KWA official said work was completed on 3,600 m out of a total
length of about 9,700 m when the rain struck. The project to replace the
15-year-old PSC pipe, which has been bursting quite frequently, with MS
pipes from Aruvikkara to the Peroorkada interconnection point via
Aruvikkara-Irumba-Kalathukal-Kachani-Mukkola-Vazhayila-Peroorkada, had
begun on January 21. The Aruvikkara-Irumba leg of about 2,400 m was
completed with just the work on installing valve chambers remaining, he
said. The Irumba-Mukkola leg could be launched only when the rain
stopped, the official said, pointing out that work had been stalled at a
crucial point near Vazhayila, where the pipe would have to be taken
through a culvert across the Vazhayila-Peroorkada road.

The
pipeline, which is crucial for the drinking water supply system of the
KWA for about 4.8 lakh people in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation
limits, was expected to be replaced with by the end of June, as
announced by Water Resources Minister P.J. Joseph during an inspection
of the work in March. However, officials had then maintained that the
work, given practical difficulties and the mammoth task at hand, might
be completed only by August or September. Now, with almost a month to be
lost due to the rains, even that deadline looks unachievable.

“Work
was progressing at a real fast pace, and we were hopeful of finishing
it before September. However, with the rain now stalling work completely
for nearly three weeks, it looks like the project might take much
longer,” the official said, pointing out that the MS pipes weighted up
to five to six tonnes and laying them into the trenches itself was a
time-consuming process.

The project had hit
roadblocks earlier too, when issues cropped between the KWA and the
Kerala Road Fund Board over digging up of newly laid roads for the
pipeline. These issues were sorted out and work had picked up pace
towards the end of March.