After much delay, the work to replace 1,524 m of defective pipeline under the Alappuzha drinking water project will begin next week.
As per the decision, 1,084 m of faulty pipeline at Thakazhy and another 440 m at Kelamangalam will be replaced. Officials said they had prepared a tentative schedule for the pipe-relaying work as directed by the government.
“As per the plan, the work will begin on March 18. We have already given letters to the Public Works Department (PWD) and Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society (ULCCS), urging them to provide the estimate for the restoration of the road after completing the pipeline work. Once the estimate is received, we will deposit the amount with the ULCCS,” A. Sheeja, project manager, UIDSSMT, said here on Saturday.
Road to be dug up
The work will be carried out after digging the Ambalappuzha-Thiruvalla road. The KWA will bear the cost of restoring the road dug up for laying the pipeline.
The road restoration work will be carried out by the ULCCS.
Officials said that 1,000-mm high-density polyethylene pipe would be replaced with 900-mm mild steel pipe.
The pipe relaying will be done by the same contractor who laid the pipeline and bear the cost of the mild steel pipe.
It is expected to be completed before the onset of the monsoon.
The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) will stop pumping in order to carry out the work.
Alternative measures
However, alternative measures will be introduced to supply drinking water to consumers in Alappuzha municipality and eight nearby grama panchayats. Apart from drawing water from borewells, water will also be distributed through tankers and from reverse osmosis plants.
The Alappuzha drinking water project was executed by the KWA with Central assistance under the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT) in 2017.
However, since its launch, pipelines under the project have burst more than 40 times, including 30 major bursts at Thakazhy, in the past three years, disrupting the water supply and damaging the Ambalappuzha-Thiruvalla road.
A high-level meeting convened by Water Resources Minister K. Krishnankutty in November 2019 had decided to replace the defective pipeline in three months, sources said.
However, a lack of permission from the PWD for digging the road has put the work on hold.
