TIRUCHI
Officials and engineers of the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board, led by Minister for Municipal Administration, K.N.Nehru, began a two-day inspection and survey of the functioning of the Ramanathapuram Combined Drinking Water Supply Scheme (CWSS) with its source on the Cauvery river at Mutharasanallur on the outskirts of the city on Monday.
The exercise was aimed at rectifying problems and streamlining water supply under the mega scheme which was executed at a cost of ₹ 616 crore during the DMK regime in 2006-11 and commissioned by the late Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi in June 2009.
The scheme was executed following a severe drinking water shortage in Ramanathapuram district during 2008-2009. It caters to five municipalities, 11 town panchayats and 3,163 rural habitations in three districts of Pudukottai, Sivagangai and Ramanathapuram. Four collector wells have been established at the headworks of the scheme on the Cauvery Nagar in Tiruchi and water is being pumped for a total distance of 448 km to feed 119 ground-level sumps and 601 overhead water tanks and supplied to beneficiaries through 198-km-long distribution lines.
However, over the years problems had cropped in the supply to tail-end areas due to road widening works, cracks and bursts in water pipelines and illegal connections.
The inspection was taken up following a directive from Chief Minister M.K.Stalin to rectify the problems and streamline the supply. Following this, Mr.Nehru, accompanied by Transport Minister R.S.Raja Kannappan and TWAD Board Managing Director C.N.Maheswaran, began the inspection on Monday at the headworks.
As many as 52 special teams comprising 152 TWAD Board assistant executive engineers, assistant engineers and groundwater experts have been constituted to carry out the inspections in Pudukottai, Sivagangai and Ramanathapuram districts on Monday and Tuesday.
The teams would inspect and check the pumping of water to sumps and overhead tanks, water quality and the gaps in pumping Mr.Nehru said. The teams would check whether the scheme is functioning as per design and also interact with local residents.
The TWAD Board Chief Engineer, Madurai Region, Manimohan, would present a detailed report, based on the inspections,at a review meeting to be held in Madurai on Tuesday. Based on the report, necessary action would be taken to ensure proper supply to beneificiaries under the scheme, Mr.Nehru said.
