The Rs. 221-crore drinking water augmentation scheme for the city is almost ready for being fully commissioned, Commissioner V.P. Thandapani told the Tiruchirapalli City Corporation Council on Thursday.
The new scheme, with its source at the Coleroon, aims at ensuring equitable distribution of drinking water to all parts of the city. The corporation had started supplying water from the new scheme, still under execution, to some parts of the city.
Responding to complaints of problems in drinking water supply under the scheme in some places, Mr. Thandapani said 36 out of the 37 new overhead drinking water tanks planned under the scheme had been built. Water was being supplied through 21 of them already. Work on laying pipelines at a couple of places on State Highways road was expected to be completed soon. “This will be completed soon and we are almost ready for commissioning (the scheme),” he said.
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However, Opposition members flayed the civic body for failing to attend to the problems. K.S. Nagarajan, DMK, complained of problems in supply in wards 52, 53 and 54, especially at Ammaiyappa Nagar, Geetha Nagar, Shanmuga Nagar, and Kallankadu areas. His party colleague, T. Muthuselvam, pointed out that the civic body had promised to commission the water scheme by August but failed to stick to the deadline.
M. Venkataraj, Independent, wondered why alternative day supply, introduced during the height of summer, was continued at Subramaniapuram in his ward.
To questions, Mr. Thandapani said daily supply had been restored at Marakkadai and Woraiyur areas where alternative days supply was introduced during summer. Once in two-days supply was in vogue in a few other places even before the summer.
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City Engineer R. Chandran said additional reservoirs (overhead tanks) built under the new scheme were intended to overcome the problems in distribution. However, there were a few problems owing to leaks in the pipelines.
Mr. Thandapani said it would take about six months for stabilising the water supply under the new scheme as problems such as leaks would have to be rectified.
Layouts near rivers
Earlier, a section of the councillors expressed concern over promotion of layouts near water courses and rivers in the city.
S. Sivasankara Rajavelu of ward 60 said layouts were being promoted close to the river in his ward and demanded action. Mr. Thandapani directed officials to take up the matter with the Registration Department.
When Mr. Nagarajan and a few other councillors pointed out that an apartment was being built close to the Uyyakondan river near the Ayyappan Temple in Cantonment, the Commissioner said the building was being built with approval from the Directorate of Town and Country Planning.
Mr. Thandapani clarified that a proposal to regularise about 14,500 unapproved plots in the five newly added wards of 61 to 65 had been sent to the government. Building plan approvals could not be issued for the unapproved plots until the government responded to the proposal, he said.