To increase the frequency of water supply to the Kurichi-Kuniyamuthur area, the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation and Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board has expedited the water supply works, which are expected to be completed by early next year.
The Kurichi-Kuniyamuthur water supply project was started in February 2021 at ₹165 crore. An official from the TWAD board told The Hindu that almost 98% of the works have been completed. The pending work includes providing links to four overhead tanks in Kurichi and the construction of infrastructure across the railway lines near Podanur Junction.
The TWAD board has submitted the proposal to lay pipelines across the railway lines to the Divisional Manager of the Salem Division, Southern Railway. “The works will start soon after the approval,” the official added.
Against the total water requirement of 35 million litres per day (mld) for the Kurichi-Kuniyamuthur area, only 50% of the water supply was made available, with 10 mld from Siruvani and eight mld from Aliyar reservoirs.
The official said that with the completion of the Pilloor-III project, the area would get an additional supply of 30 mld that would be sufficient to meet the total need.
The Kurichi-Kuniyamuthur water supply project that benefits more than 37,700 households involved the construction of 18 overhead tanks, 11 for Kurichi and 7 for Kuniyamuthur and two master balancing reservoirs.
Recently, the TWAD board along with the civic body conducted a trial run of the project. Corporation Commissioner M. Prathap said, “So far, 17,900 households have been getting piped water supply in the area. To increase the supply, pipelines were laid for a stretch of 248km. On completion of this project, the frequency of water supply to the area would be improved.”
