The Hindu : Front Page : Severe sand mining hits infiltration wells

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Wednesday, Aug 22, 2007
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Severe sand mining hits infiltration wells

P. Sudhakar

At a pumping station in the Tamiraparani
Corporation starts desilting them

TIRUNELVELI: The Tirunelveli Corporation has started desilting infiltration wells at the Manappadaiveedu pumping station in the Tamiraparani. The wells have been affected by severe sand mining.

There has been adverse impact on the quality of water pumped from the river for supply to the public.

Following complaints from residents living in and around Palayamkottai on the poor quality of water being supplied to them every day, officials inspected the wells, which were established in 1956 and expanded 20 years later.

They found that removal of sand around the wells for more than 10 feet had completely stopped filtration activity close to them, owing to depleted sand bed and brown-coloured water collected in the water body was being pumped for consumption.

The Corporation has begun desilting the wells using compressed air generated from a tractor. “We have to spend Rs.6,000 for desilting a well and hence the local body will suffer an unnecessary expenditure of more than half a lakh for the exercise. The district administration and the PWD should take stringent action against those who quarry sand around the wells,” said a top official of the Corporation.

One of the infiltration wells might collapse any time since sand around its wall had been removed.

“As there is lack of monitoring, sand has been quarried for more than 10 feet around all the nine infiltration wells near the pumping station. If the river is flooded, most of the wells here will certainly be washed away,” says K. Murugan of Manappadaiveedu.

When the Corporation took steps to reinforce distribution of drinking water within the city limit, it provided two submersible pumps for two wells of Manappadaiveedu at a cost of Rs.22.51 lakh.

The civic body also replaced the 20-year-old 120 HP pumps with new ones. All these investments had gone waste now, said an official.

The PWD guidelines on sand quarrying clearly stipulate that sand mining should not be carried out within 500 metres from the wells.

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