An aerator to reduce the iron content in the drinking water supplied from the Kollidam riverbed to the city was commissioned by K.N.Nehru, Minister for Municipal Administration, here on Friday.
Established at a cost of ₹ 5 crore at the Ayyalamman bathing ghat in Kambarasampettai, the multiple-tray aerator resembling a water fountain, would help bring down the iron content to the permissible level of less than 0.3 milligram per litre, officials said.
The Corporation began tapping water from the Kollidam riverbed by executing a drinking water supply augmentation scheme, with assistance from Japan International Cooperation Agency, about a decade ago. The project aims at increasing the water supply in the city to 135 million litres a day (MLD) from about 100 MLD.
But the discolouration due to the high iron content in the drinking water being supplied from the third collector well on the Kollidam riverbed was a major concern and led to protests from a section of residents.
The aerator to treat the water has been set up now with funds sanctioned from the State Finance Committee grants. The plant would have a capacity to treat 31.32 MLD in the ultimate stage in 2032. Water supplied through 11 overhead tanks at Mangalam Nagar, Woraiyur (old and new),Fathima Nagar, Selva Nagar, Siva Nagar, Anandam Nagar, Bharathi Nagar, Puthur (old and new) and Rainbow Nagar would be treated at the aerator.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr.Nehru pointed out that the discolouration caused by the iron content had been a major cause for concern for residents in Tiruchi West Assembly constituency for a long time. The issue has now been resolved with the commissioning of the aerator.
Listing out the various infrastructure development projects sanctioned for the city, Mr.Nehru disclosed that the state government has sanctioned a modern sewage treatment plant for the city at an estimated cost of ₹ 270 crore. The plant would treat sewage using the advanced Sequencing Batch Reactor technology and would come up at Panjapur, where the proposed Olympic Academy would also be located.
Later Mr.Nehru inaugurated the newly built overhead tank (OHT) at Periya Milaguparai in the city. The locality situated on a rocky terrain had long been facing drinking water short supply. The OHT, built at a cost of ₹ 95 lakh, would help overcome the problem and ensure uninterrupted supply to 685 house connections in Chinna and Periya Milagupurai areas, he said.
He also launched the redevelopment of the weekly shandy at S.Kannanur Town Panchayat sanctioned at a cost of ₹ 3.46 crore and other works under the Kalaignar Urban Development Scheme and AMRUT 2.0 in S.Kannanur and Manachanallur town panchayats.
MLAs M.Palaniyandi,A.Soundarapandian and S.Stalin Kumar, Collector M.Pradeep Kumar, Tiruchi Mayor M.Anbazhagan, Corporation Commissioner R.Vaithinathan, Deputy Mayor G.Divya and other officials participated.
