Coimbatore : Under Ground Sewerage System (UGSS) which comes under the Tamil Nadu Urban Flagship Investment Program is underway in the earmarked areas of Kurichi and Kuniamuthur.
Coimbatore : Under Ground Sewerage System (UGSS) which comes under the Tamil Nadu Urban Flagship Investment Program is underway in the earmarked areas of Kurichi and Kuniamuthur.
Huge pits have been dug across the roads in Kurichi and Kuniamuthur in the City and construction of excavation chambers is ongoing.
The UGD project estimated at a cost of Rs. 578.77 Crore has around 33% allocation from Amrut scheme, 20% from Government of Tamil Nadu and the remaining by the Coimbatore Corporation with a loan from Asian Development Bank.
The Scheme was proposed in 2017 and the project was awarded to L&T with a project completion timeline of three years after commencement.
Though the officials have assured that there will be no bad odour emanting from the underground drainage, as odour control devices will be installed at the pumping stations, the residents are unconvinced and fear of foul smell.
Clarifying the doubts related to foul smell from UGDs, a senior TWAD board official stated "Since the main complaint about UGD is the foul smell, we have come up with a solution. Odour control devices will be installed at all 30 pumping stations which will remove the stench completely."
He also added that the other concern is about the roads dug up for construction of excavation chambers which has created inconvenience amongst the residents, as they are unable to use their four wheelers.
"If the work is not finished ontime, we will further be unable to take our cars out from our houses", said Chandra, a resident of Abirami Nagar, Kuniamuthur.
Commenting on the issue faced by the residents, the senior corporation official said, "We are very concerned on the issue. However, well ahead of the project, we have alerted the residents to make necessary arrangements. The public need not worry about further delays, as the chamber construction works will be over in another 5 days time. And, laying of pipelines will take another two days and the work will be finished within 48 hours. Public can approach us regarding any inconvenience caused and the issue will be addressed immediately".
Before UGSS
The city limits were expended in the year 2011 and added surrounding municipalities and villages, increased the area from 105.60 sq. km to 257.04 sq. km. At present there is no underground sewerage system in these added areas.
Road side drains are carrying both sewage and rain water. In the present project, it is proposed to provide underground sewerage system in 14 of 40 wards in added area, and STP. These wards (87-100) of Zone IV; Wards 87 to 93, the erstwhile Kuniamuthur Municipality. And, wards 94 to 100 of the erstwhile Kurichi Municipality.
UGSS Project
The proposed UGSS will consist of sewer network (434.52 kilometre (km) 11 pumping stations, 19 lifting stations, out of which 5 pumping stations are proposed in Kuniyamuthur and 6 pumping stations in Kuruchi areas, 19 lifting stations, sewage treatment plant (STP) at Vellalore of 30 million litres per day (MLD) capacity, 2 megawatt (MW) photo voltaic solar power plant at STP site, and 69,668 house service connections.
For better implementation, the project area is divided into 13 Zones.The sewer network will cover all the streets in the Corporation areas of Kuniyamuthur (Wards 87-93) and Kuruchi (93-100 wards). The proposed project will collect the sewage from residential, commercial and institutional areas. The entire sewage from Kuniyamuthur will be collected to the Main Pumping Station in the Chinnasudukadu. Then the sewage will be pumped to Sewage Treatment Plant at Vellalore for treatment and disposal.
Also, the entire sewage collected in Kuruchi will be directly pumped to STP at Vellalore. The STP will be executed on DBOOT (design, build, own, operate and transfer) basis and the process will provide the treated waste water in line with the discharge standards prescribed by Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB).
After treatment, the treated sewage will be used for agricultural purposes. The proposal will prevent pollution of the natural water bodies present in the area, due to discharge of sewage.