The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : IIT team presents report on Tiruchi sewer lines project

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 03, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

IIT team presents report on Tiruchi sewer lines project

Special Correspondent

Underground scheme has run into technical, legal glitches

TIRUCHI: A two-member team from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, which was requested to study the technical problems hampering the laying of underground sewer lines in Tiruchi, has suggested sinking temporary borewells to pump out and bring down the water table in Srirangam.

The team, comprising S. Mohan and K.S. Jinesh Babu of the Civil Engineering Department of the IIT, has submitted its report to the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board after a recent field visit.

The underground drainage scheme, sanctioned at a cost of Rs. 91.89 crore, has run into technical and legal glitches in the final stages, delaying its completion. Nearly 80 per cent of the project has been completed. Sewer lines could not be laid in certain parts of Srirangam, accounting for a total stretch of 4.3 kilometres, due to high water table.

Based on a directive from Collector Ashish Vachhani, the TWAD Board had sought the expertise of the IIT.

The IIT team has suggested that borewells with submersible pumps could be sunk sequentially at a distance of 10 metres each. By operating both the wells simultaneously, the ground water could be pumped out and the sewer lines could be laid in the particular segment. This would be a viable option in all locations, the report said.

TWAD officials said that the recommendations of the team would be tried out to assess their cost effectiveness. "We will have to work out the cost involved before adopting the suggestion for the entire critical segment in Srirangam," a senior official said. The Defence Ministry has issued clearance for laying sewer lines across Defence lands at Mannarpuram. However, the legal wrangle over land acquisition for establishing a pumping station at Vasudevan Street in Srirangam remains unresolved.