Work on JBIC-aided water project to begin soon

Kozhikode: Work on a drinking water scheme for the district, aided by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), will begin soon.

 

Laying of pipes for the project, estimated at Rs. 570 crore, will begin as soon as the material arrives from Kochi, a senior official told The Hindu here on Saturday.

 

He said officials of Larsen and Toubro Ltd., awarded the work contract, and trade unions reached a consensus on the work a fortnight ago. The agreement was reached basically on fixing the charge for loading of goods.

 

Under the project, water will be drawn from the Peruvannamuzhy reservoir, about 50 km from the city. The beneficiaries are residents of the city and those in the grama panchayat limits of Balussery, Nenmanda, Kakoor, Chelanoor, Kakkodi, Kuruvattoor, Narikunni, Kunnamangalam, Thalakulathur, Elathoor, Peruvayil, Perumanna, Olavanna, Beypore, Cheruvanur-Nallalam and Kadalundi.

 

The project is aimed at finding a permanent solution to drinking water shortage in the city as well as villages. "The laying of pipes will begin from Balussery and Nenmanda regions. By May 2008, the laying of the transmission main will be completed and the project commissioned by December 2008," K.C. Sundareshan, Deputy Project Manager, said.

 

As much as 174 million litres per day (mld) of water will be pumped from the reservoir and purified at the treatment plant at Ponnmala. The water will then be supplied through two 55-km pipes in the city and 70-km pipes to the villages. Six tanks will be set up for storing and supplying water in the city and rural areas. The main distribution network will have a length of 123 km. Old and rusted pipes in the existing network will be removed.

 

Mr. Sundareshan said a telemetry system would be set up at the Central Control Station at Swapna Nagari to check the water level in the six tanks. The project has been envisaged based on a study of consumption of water per person in the city and villages. On an average, a city-dweller consumes 150 litres of water and a villager consumes 70 to 100 litres a day.

 

The daily demand for water is about 150 mld in the city. But the current production capacity is only 65 mld. Water is now drawn from the Chaliyar and Poonur rivers and supplied from the storage facilities at Koovur, Malaparambu, Pottamal and Balamandir. The Kerala Water Authority now supplies water on alternate days.

 

This existing network will continue even after the completion of the project.