A drinking water supply improvement project conceptualised in Uthukuli Town Panchayat more than two years ago at a project outlay of Rs. 28.5 lakh, is yet to become operational.
The project cost was allocated from the Constituency Development Fund of the Member of Parliament (Tirupur constituency) and the scheme package include construction of an overhead 3 lakh litre capacity water tank at Kaveri Nagar and laying of pipelines to draw water from the main supply line as well as to distribute the water collected to the households.
The work on the project has been going on at a snail’s pace due to various reasons, pertaining to contractual matters, cited by the administration.
R. Kumar, former chairman of Uthukuli Town Panchayat and CPI (M) district committee member, who has recently petitioned the Collector and various Ministers and MPs pointing out the inordinate delay occurring in the completion of the project, told The Hindu that it was during his tenure as the chairman, that the Town Panchayat council resolved to go for the project in September 2011.
“The tender for the project was floated in October 2011 and the foundation stone for the water tank was laid in November 2011 itself. But the work did not go at the desired pace, inviting the wrath of the people,” he said.
The water needed to fill the tank would be drawn from the New Tirupur Area Development Corporation Limited’s (NTADCL) drinking water project and would be supplied to as many as select seven wards out of the total 15 wards in the Uthukuli Town Panchayat, which were presently getting water from another tank.
“The pipeline network to draw water from the NTADCL’s main supply line, situated near Kodiyamaplayam situated a couple of kilometres away from Kaveri Nagar, is yet to be laid completely,” Mr. Kumar pointed out.
S. Ramaprasad, the Executive Officer of Uthukuli Town Panchayat, told The Hindu that steps were being taken to expedite the remaining works and get the entire project commissioned within a month.
“Once the 3 lakh litre water tank is commissioned at Kaveri Nagar, the average consumption of water among the residents will go up from the present 70 litres per capita per day to 78 litres per capita per day,” he said.
