Minister for Power R. Viswanathan laid the foundation stone for a new drinking water scheme, drawing water directly from Athoor dam for Dindigul Corporation, at an estimated cost of Rs. 70.5 crore here on Sunday.
Briefing media persons after laying the foundation stone, he said Dindigul Corporation would offer 30,000 new drinking water connections on completion of this project. It would also ensure water supply to all residents on a daily basis. (At present, water is supplied to the residents within the corporation limits once in eight days.)
The work would be executed in two years. But the contractors were advised to complete it within 18 months, the Minister said.
One overhead tank with a capacity of 10 lakh litres and three overhead tanks with a capacity of six lakh litres each would be constructed under this plan. Pumping main would be laid for a 24.88-km stretch and distribution pipelines would be laid for a total distance of 227 km.
He said a water treatment plant would be constructed in the dam site to process 16.8 MLD (million litres per day) of water. The 19.86-km-long existing main pipeline would be replaced with new 600 mm diameter pipes.
At present, the corporation had been drawing 9.6 MLD of water from Athoor Kamarajar dam through the existing scheme and 13.27 MLD of water from Cauvery Comprehensive Drinking Water Scheme.
The new scheme would ensure supply of 135 litres of water per person per day. The population of the city corporation would increase to 2.75 lakh in 2045 from 2.15 lakh at present. The new scheme would supply 29 MLD of water to the corporation immediately and 37 MLD of water in 2045.
