About 98% work under the Athikadavu-Avinashi groundwater recharge and drinking water supply scheme has been completed, while the authorities have assured to complete the remaining work in 25 days, Housing and Urban Development Minister S Muthusamy said here on Monday.
The minister along with collector H Krishnanunni held a meeting with the officials at the collectorate and reviewed the progress of the scheme.
Addressing the media, the Minister said that the construction of retaining wall along the National Highway was pending up to 400 metres, while legal disputes for more than 200 meters were pending in the court. Presently water was being supplied from the fourth to fifth pumping station and testing was being done. “The pumping of water in the sixth pumping station will be done on Tuesday and will be completed within three days,” the minister said. He said that at some places the work of repairing feeder lines is being done, which have been damaged due to road widening work and some other departments. “Once all the work is completed, Chief Minister MK Stalin will inaugurate the scheme within a month,” the minister said.
The scheme was being implemented at a total cost of Rs 1,758.88 crore to fill 32 Public Works Department tanks, 42 union tanks and 971 ponds in Erode, Tiruppur and Coimbatore districts. The scheme will also help in irrigation of 24,468 acres of land in the three districts. The project proposes to divert 1.5 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) of excess water from the Bhavani river downstream of the Kalingarayan Anicut by pumping through pipelines and refilling the water bodies.
S Manmanthan, Executive Engineer, Planning, Water Resources Department, Kannan, Executive Engineer, Lower Bhavani Basin Division and other officials were present.