After a long wait, residents of Avadi municipality will finally get individual underground drainage connections, although in a very small pocket.
The Rs 192.32 crore-Underground Drainage (UGD) system in this local body located in the western suburb is ready to be made operational. Trials, including testing of new sewerage system, are being undertaken jointly by the Chennai Metrowater and the Avadi municipality.
Municipal officials said that in the first phase of the project, expected to be inaugurated by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa soon, it will be commissioned in three wards — 1, 2 and 48 — covering Mittanamalli and Muthapudhupet areas near Indian Air Force (IAF) Station.
The Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) in Muthapudhupet has a total capacity to handle only four million litres a day (MLD) of sewage while the second plant in Paruthipattu near Thiruverukadu can treat around 36 MLD, municipal officials told The Hindu.
A total of 35,316 families have so far deposited the fee of Rs.10,000 with the municipality for obtaining household connections.
“As the first sewage treatment plant (STP) in Muthapudhupet was completed and can handle only a small quantity of waste, we decided to start the project for these wards rather than waiting for the completion of the entire work, which is expected in a few months,” S.M. Nazer, Chairman, Avadi municipality, told The Hindu.
The work order for the multi-crore project was issued in February 2009. Subsequently, the project dragged for seven years due to land acquisition though many residents paid the initial deposit of Rs. 10,000.
“Those who paid their deposits need not pay any additional deposits. Applications for the drainage connections can be submitted to the municipality from February,” they said. Under the project, a total of 292 km of pumping lines have been laid and the network has 18 pumping stations.
Work on the STP in Paruthipattu near Thiruverukadu is now on. Further, a team of health officials of the municipality will be trained by Chennai Metrowater to enable them to handle the STPs and the new sewerage system, officials added.
The plant in Muthapudhupet has a total capacity to handle four MLD of sewage
