District Monitoring Officer and Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation G. Prakash, who reviewed and inspected the ongoing infrastructure development works and the anti-COVID-19 operations in the district on Tuesday and Wednesday, urged officials to complete the works with superior quality within the deadline.
He camped here for reviewing the anti-COVID operations and inspecting the progress of all ongoing infrastructure development projects in the district, each worth Rs. 10 crore and above.
He inspected the infrastructure development projects being implemented under the Smart City programme, floodwater mitigating structure (₹ 83.87 crore) near Thoothukudi Bypass – Tiruchendur Road Traffic Island, floodwater channel (₹ 69.66 crore) at Meelavittaan, Buckle Channel Development Project (₹ 78.88 crore), Si. Va. Irrigation Tank restoration project (₹ 11.17 crore), multilevel car parking facility (₹ 7 crore) near Flower Market, old bus-stand construction (₹ 53 crore) and a few more projects on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“All the works should be completed before the deadline with superior quality,” he told the officials.
Speaking to reporters, he said the district administration had devised two-pronged strategies for checking the further spread of COVID-19 during the second wave and put in place medical and social infrastructure to neutralize the possible third wave.
Steps had been taken to further increase the number of oxygen-supported beds in taluk, government and medical college hospitals to receive any number of COVID-19 positive patients even as special measures were being taken to vaccinate as many people everyday. Besides hiring doctors and nurses on contract basis, oxygen concentrators should be used to the maximum possible extent in case of sudden rise in demand for oxygen.
He said the flood carrier channel, being excavated on an outlay of Rs. 950 crore to drain the rainwater into the sea and thereby averting flooding of Thoothukudi, was about to be completed. Once this project was commissioned, the coastal town would be saved permanently from flooding during monsoons.
Mr. Prakash informed that trial run of a combined drinking water scheme being executed by the TWAD Board for the benefit of 248 village panchayats in Kovilpatti, Kayathar, Ottapidaram and Vilaathikulam taluks was going on successfully and hence the project would be commissioned before June-end. The old bus-stand work, being carried out under the Smart City programme would be completed within a year.
He also informed that desilting of 53 irrigation tanks in Tiruchendur and Thoothukudi areas, new schemes to avert traffic congestion within Tiruchendur and a few more development works were under consideration. “After conducting feasibility studies, proposals will be sent to the government for final approval and allocation of funds,” he said.
He ordered the officials to complete at the earliest ongoing laying of roads in Kovilpatti town and the construction of maternity ward and the renovation of paediatric ward in Kovilpatti Government Hospital.
He also asked the officials to expedite the construction of check-dams at Mukkaani, Punnaikaayal, Sernthamangalam, Alwarthirunagari and Sri Parangusanallur to store flood water going waste into the sea and the construction of gryone in the coastal village of Alanthalai near Tiruchendur.
Collector K. Senthil Raj, City Health Officer Vidhya, and other senior officials accompanied him during the inspection.
