Nearly 700 water lorries plying on contract with Chennai Metrowater will have global positioning system (GPS) equipment fitted by December end. The long-pending project aims at curbing unaccounted tanker trips. The water agency is in the process of fitting the equipment in the lorries at a cost of ₹1 crore. The water agency plans to track the daily trips from the centralised online system and also alert the area offices for billing the trips.
At present, Metrowater is supplying 675 million litres on alternate days due to limited resources. On an average, about 5,600 tanker trips are being made to provide nearly 45 mld of drinking water, said officials. This will tend to increase during the next few months as the Northeast monsoon has been weak so far over the city. Each lorry plies 9-10 trips daily to cater to the needs of residents in added areas too.
Smart system
Moreover, the water agency has also called for bids to implement smart card-based automated water distribution system in 41 filling stations. The project worth ₹11.75 crore is expected to arrest wastage in the filling stations. These have 191 filling points in these stations across the city.
The trips and routes are now being registered manually in the records of Metrowater offices at the filling points.
Officials said as the valves are opened manually now, it also leads to illegal trips. Lorry operators would have to use smart cards for filling water at the filling point and once the required volume of water gets dispensed, the valves would close. This would help in assessing the volume of water being supplied. Tender process is likely to be completed by year end.
