The construction of a main transmission pipeline over a distance of 23.8 kilometres for sourcing drinking water from the Neyyar dam site to the capital city, which forms the second critical component of the 120-mld Neyyar water supply project, is expected to kick off in the near future.
The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) has awarded the work to Erode-based Annai Infra Developers and the two entities are expected to ink the formal agreement soon. The work involves the supply, laying, testing, and commissioning of a 1422-mm, mild steel, clear water gravity main from the 120-mld water treatment plant proposed at the Neyyar dam site to the ground-level storage reservoir (GLSR) of the KWA at PTP Nagar.
Survey for the construction of the transmission main has been completed and the work does not involve land acquisition, a KWA official says. The Erode-based firm has bagged the contract for ₹137.70 crore, according to KWA officials. Funds for the work are being mobilised through the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).
A high-level meeting of the State-run water utility on January 28 has directed the projects division to ensure that the pipeline construction is completed in 18 months.
One of two big projects in the KWA kitty that promise a long-term solution to the water woes of the city region, the Neyyar project envisages a daily supply of 100 million litres to the city and 20 million litres a day (mld) to Vilappil, Vilavoorkal, Maranalloor and Malayinkeezhu panchayats.
Work on the primary component of the water supply project—the 120-mld water treatment plant at Neyyar—had been delayed due to ownership disputes over a six-acre plot identified for establishing the facility. With cases pending in court, the KWA has pinpointed another suitable site to avoid delay in the implementation of the project. Initially, the plan has been to commission the water supply project by March 2021, but that schedule has gone awry due to the land row and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Neyyar reservoir was designated as a possible alternative water source for the city region after the KWA was forced to rig temporary pumping facilities there when water levels in the Peppara dam—the main source—dipped alarmingly during the 2017 summer.
