In 2019, Coimbatore Corporation started the 24×7 drinking water supply project at R.S. Puram in the city.
For executing the work first in R.S. Puram, the Corporation said the as well-planned area was close to the main storage reservoir in Bharathi Park, working there would give an idea of how to expand the project to the old city area of 60 wards.
The plan was to replace main water supply pipeline for 10km and distribution lines for around 50 km so that it could supply adequate water at good pressure to nearly 5,700 houses and commercial establishments in R.S. Puram.
More than three years on, the Corporation is still stuck in R.S. Puram, unable to complete the project.
Even as it continued to struggle to complete the project in the area, the Corporation moved to Jayaram Nagar in Selvapuram, where it completed work.
Now the Corporation will showcase another area for people to see the benefits of 24×7 water distribution project – Revathi Nagar, P.N. Pudur.
As it goes about completing the 24×7 water distribution improvement project in one layout after another, the Corporation’s inability to complete the project in the area where it first started work continues.
Sources familiar with the delay say that while executing the work in R.S. Puram, the Corporation decided to replace only those water supply pipelines that were very old with the idea of retaining those that were in good condition.
It decided to do so to minimise digging roads and complete work at the earliest. But the very decision has turned out to be the reason for trouble as the Corporation is finding it difficult to supply water with adequate pressure.
And, it decided to minimise digging roads because the execution of the 24×7 drinking water distribution improvement project coincided with the work on model road project that left driving through R.S. Puram a nightmare.
Now to remedy the situation the Corporation is identifying problematic areas where it needs to replace pipeline. Once that is done, it will do what is necessary to improve the water supply in the area and this may happen in the next few months.
Meanwhile, the progress the Corporation has made in executing the project in other parts of the city appears to be slow as it has started work on only 18 of the 32 overhead tanks it is supposed to build, laid main water supply line for only 16 km of the 73 km, distribution lines for only 350 km of the 1,700 km and completed only 21,500 of the 1,50,000 connections it was supposed to give.
The Corporation is supposed to complete the 24×7 drinking water project within four years of starting the project.
