Work on laying of pipelines for a Combined Water Supply Scheme (CWSS) with water from Mines II in NLC India Ltd (NLCIL) as a source, has gained momentum.
In the past two months, about 20 % of the total pipeline network of 900 km has been laid in Kurunjipadi and Vadalur in Cuddalore district.
Once complete, about 625 rural habitations in Thittakudi, Pennadam, Mangalampettai, Vadalur, Kurunjipadi, Virudhachalam, Mangalur, and Nallur will receive piped water supply.
The CWSS is being executed by the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD) with financial assistance from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) at a cost of ₹479 crores.
According to a senior official of TWAD, the scheme is aimed at providing 55 litres of water every day to people in 625 rural habitations and 135 litres to people in six town panchayats - Thittakudi, Pennadam, Mangalampettai, Vadalur, Kurunjipadi, and Gangaikondan. “The base year of the scheme is 2022 and is intended to benefit 5.58 lakh people, then increase to 6.68 lakh people in 2037 and 7.91 lakh people in 2052. About 39.43 million litre a day (MLD) will be supplied to people in 2052,” he said.
Under the scheme, water would be drawn from Mines II in NLC India Ltd (NLCIL) and would be routed through pipelines to the water treatment plant at Kizhvalayamadevi with capacity of 31.26 MLD. Later, the treated water will be distributed through pipeline network of 900 km to the areas concerned.
A 22 lakh litre storage capacity will be created at Kizhvalayamadevi while four booster stations will come up at Pudhukooraipettai, Kothattai, Kottaram and Avatti. An additional 176 overhead water tanks will be created for the project, which is expected to be completed by August 2022.
