MADURAI
The State government has approved a ₹1,150-crore scheme to draw water from the Mullaperiyar dam for Madurai.
The scheme envisages drawal of 125 million litres of water from the Lower Camp hydro-power station to areas under the Madurai Corporation through a 143-km pipeline.
“By 2034, the city is expected to have a population of 25 lakh. The main aim of the project is to cater to the needs of residents of ‘Greater Madurai’ with at least 50 additional wards, taking the count to a total to 150,” said a source from the Engineering department of the Corporation.
The pipeline will run through Gudalur, Cumbum, Uthamapalayam, Veerapandi and Theni to reach the Vaigai dam. Water will be treated at the Pannaipatti plant from where it will reach the city through the Periyar main canal, via Sholavandan. Corporation Commissioner S. Aneesh Sekhar said that 56 overhead tanks would be installed in different water supply zones. He said that the project would prevent illegal tapping, evaporation and seepage loss.
S. Suthanthira Amalraj, former Executive Engineer, Public Works Department, said that there was an extensive illegal tapping by large businesses between Lower Camp and the Vaigai dam. “When there is low discharge of water between Mullaperiyar dam and Vaigai dam, little or no water reaches the latter due to illicit tapping and evaporation,” he said.
“As part of the second phase of the project, we would be revamping the water distribution system in the city,” added the Commissioner.
Currently, the Corporation depends on the Vaigai dam for all its drinking water needs. A total of 1,500 mcft of water is drawn to the city from the dam.
“The project was originally proposed in 1995 and was later taken up in 2009 by the Corporation but in could not be implemented then,” said a Corporation official. Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami announced at the MGR centenary celebrations here in July 2017 that the project would be taken up soon.
