The underground drainage (UGD) project work in Tiruchi is likely to be delayed by a few more months.
The Tiruchi City Corporation, under three different phases — Phase II, Phase III, and the Smart Cities Mission — is implementing the underground drainage project in 45 wards. Phase II began in 2018 at an estimate of ₹344 crore while Phase III work commenced in 2019 at a cost of ₹366 crore under the AMRUT scheme.
Work is under way at Karumandapam, K.K. Nagar, Edamalaipattipudur, Arasu Colony, Tiruveumbur, Bheema Nagar, Crawford, and Cantonment. The laying of pipelines and construction of sewage chambers was supposed to be completed by March as the Corporation could not meet the earlier deadlines of December and June 2023.
According to official sources, around 20 km are left in Phase III, which would take another few months to be completed. However, the pipeline-laying work under Phase II and the Smart City projects are in final stages with only a few km left and will be completed by July.
UGD work in most of the interior parts are yet to be completed. But work on major roads, including bus route roads and commercial areas, were completed.
In some areas such as Cantonment, Crawford, and Bheema Nagar, UGD work had been suspended on a few portions because of the rocky subsurface. Since the presence of boulders was impeding the progress of pipeline installation work, particular portions were skipped. Work on such portions would be taken up with utmost care using blasting methods after finishing the entire stretch.
The civic body is making efforts to expedite the project and complete the leftover areas before the onset of monsoon. “The progress is being tracked on a daily basis and we have instructed the contractors to provide household connections to relay the stretch soon,” said a senior Corporation official.
