A day after the Kerala Government said that its Irrigation Department had closed a pipeline that was below the dead storage level in the Siruvani Reservoir, the Coimbatore Corporation on Tuesday received 55 million litres a day (MLD) Siruvani water.
According to sources in the Coimbatore Corporation and the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board, there was a gradual drop in supply in the past few days but that was due to the receding water level in the dam. As the water level kept going down, they had adjusted the value to maintain the optimum supply possible.
On Monday, Sunday and Saturday, the TWAD Board had maintained the supply around 45 MLD. The water level in the reservoir on Tuesday stood at nearly three feet, the officials said and added that there no significant rain in the catchment areas as of Tuesday morning.
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This has forced the TWAD Board, which supplies the Siruvani water, and the Corporation, which distributes the water to the city’s residents, to keep their fingers crossed. For, if the water level does not improve, the Corporation would be forced to divert Pilloor water to Siruvani-fed wards in the city.
The civic body supplies Siruvani water to 26 wards in full and another nine wards in parts.
On Tuesday, the Coimbatore Malayali Samajam made an appeal to Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to not plug the pipeline.
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It said that the Siruvani Reservoir was a symbol of friendship between Tamil Nadu and Kerala and the Kerala Government’s move had caused consternation among the people of Coimbatore, for whom the reservoir was the source of water supply for the past 85 years.
The Kerala Government must ensure that Coimbatore did not suffer for want of Siruvani water and that supply was as good as it was in the past.
It added that it was making the appeal on behalf of all the Malayali associations in Coimbatore.
Our Tirupur Staff
Reporter writes:
The Tirupur district administration is now planning to execute the implementation of the estimated Rs. 750 crore fourth drinking water scheme in Tirupur city in two phases, according to Corporation Commissioner M. Ashokan.
“The scheme, when commissioned, will have the capacity to cater to the projected population of 19.5 lakh people envisaged after 30 years. The present population in the city is 8.77 lakh,” he told reporters here on Tuesday.
The projected overall need of water for the estimated population of 19.5 lakh was computed at the rate of 135 litres per capita per day.
According to Mr. Ashokan, the works on the new water distribution project is expected to commence during the current financial year.