Choondi water pipeline work to resume soon.

Anoop Jacob, M. Swaraj and V.P. Sajeendran, MLAs representing the constituencies of Piravom, Thripunithura and Kunnathunadu, recently held a meeting with officials of the Kerala Water Authority, PWD, police and other departments where it was decided to speed up the pipeline replacement project to draw raw water for the Choondi water treatment plant.

People’s protest against cutting roads for laying a pipeline from Ramamangalam to the water treatment plant at Choondi had resulted in stopping the work on the project, which was one of the major setbacks for the Choondi project in increasing water supply.

The work that would be taken up after August 15 would be completed in three months, Mr. Swaraj told The Hindu .

Besides the Rs. 2.2 crore that the KWA had deposited with the PWD for road repair following the laying of pipeline for over 5 km, more funds would be allocated to repair byroads in panchayats that would be used for traffic diversion.

The existing asbestos cement (AC) 600 mm pipeline is located dangerously between electrical and telephone lines and a repair on the pipeline could prove risky. It would be replaced with a ductile iron 900 mm pipeline.

The Choondi plant was conceived mainly to provide water to Thripunithura Municipality and nearby panchayats. However, with the production at the plant remaining about 22 million litres a day (mld) against the capacity of 35 mld, the municipality had been facing severe water shortage, especially during summers. A small drop in the production results in households going without water for three to four days.

THE HINDU