The Union Ministry of Urban Development has allotted Rs. 37 crore for developing drinking water system to supply drinking water 24x7 under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) Scheme to people in Machilipatnam.
On January 16, the State Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department has issued an order (GO. MS. 30) to commence the first phase of the drinking water project, awarding the work to Vijayawada-based firm M/s. Velko Infratek Projects Private Limited. The first phase work of the drinking water project will commence soon and targeted to be completed within one-and-a-half year from the date of commencement, according to the AMRUT guidelines.
“Laying 200 kilometre length of water supply distribution lines, construction of four reservoirs and sanctioning of 9,000 new house service connections are a few salient features of the project in the first phase,” Machilipatnam Municipal Engineer P. Kameswara Rao said.
Four reservoirs
The four reservoirs will come up at Valandapalem, Chilakalapudi, Rustumbada and RTC Complex area. “The firm is soon expected to begin survey and other planning activity in order to speed up the project,” added Mr. Kameswara Rao.
The phase-I under the AMRUT is aimed at addressing water woes across the port town, particularly in summer. Until now, the Machilipatnam municipality has been supplying drinking water twice a week during the mid summer, owing to lack of water storage capacity and poor pipeline connectivity. The phase-1 project was designed to meet the requirement of the drinking water once eight panchayats are merged into the municipality.
