Mild steel pipe laid only on 1.3 km

Replacement work to be completed by June

The Kerala Water Authority has completed the work on replacing the pre-stressed concrete pipe with mild steel (MS) pipe only on 1.3 km of the 9.5-km Aruvikkara-Peroorkada stretch so far and steps have been taken to complete the work by June.

In a written reply to a question in the Assembly on Wednesday, Minister for Water Resources P.J. Joseph said the replacement work was taken up at a cost of Rs.49.11 crore to put an end to the frequent bursts in the pipes that brought drinking water to the city from Aruvikkara and to mitigate the problems faced by the citizens.

The tenure of the work agreement was till September and a sum of Rs.462.69 lakh had been spent so far to lay the mild steel pipes. Steps had been taken to complete the work by June, he added.

Detailing the work to put an end to frequent bursts in the drinking water pipes in the city and suburbs, Mr. Joseph said the tender formalities were on for undertaking the work on replacing the existing pipes with ductile iron (DI) and PVC pipe on the Aruvikkara Society junction to Kachani junction stretch.

The work would be completed in six months from the date of finalising the tenders.

In Nedumangad

For the Nedumangad Municipality Drinking water project, tender formalities had been initiated for replacing the primo pipe that brought water from the Perumala water treatment plant to Shemavila sump with DI pipe. The Minister said the tender formalities would be completed soon and the work would be completed within a year. The Water Resources Minister said DI K9 500 to 600 mm pipes would be laid for taking water from the Mulaserri water treatment plant to the Thettikulam sump under the Varkala municipal limits.

The work was estimated to cost Rs.13.45 crore and it would be completed within one year once the tender was finalised.