CHERTHALA’S WATER PROJECT

CHERTHALA’S WATER PROJECT

With the commissioning on Tuesday,3^rd January,2012, of the Kerala Water Authority's project for supply of 107 million litres a day for Cherthala, the days of drinking water shortage in the taluk and nearby areas in Alappuzha district will be over.The Rs. 490-crore project, funded by the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA), has been executed with an aim to provide water to 6.53 lakh people projected for 2030 spread in an area of 324 sqkm.The work on the project, meant to bring water from the Muvattupuzha river to the coastal area where there is an acute shortage of water, was begun in 2006. Laying the pipes for 21.6 km to bring in water was the toughest part. For one, it had to face stiff opposition from non-beneficiary areas through which the pipeline was laid. Secondly, this also included laying the pipeline through the Vembanad backwaters for a distance of 2.5 km.

Overall, 80 km of mainlines were laid and 19 reservoirs built with a distribution network spread over 662 km. A four-company consortium headed by Tokyo Engineering Consultancy completed all the infrastructure required for the project.The State government's grant was utilised for land acquisitions and providing rehabilitation packages for the people displaced for the project. According to KWA officials, about 2 km of road was reconstructed in some of the non-beneficiary panchayats where land was used to lay the pipelines. Defence Minister A.K. Antony will dedicate the project to the nation at a function at the Thykattussery treatment plant premises on Tuesday at 4 p.m. K.C. Venugopal, Union Minister of State for Energy will deliver the keynote address and P.J. Joseph, Minister for Water Resources, will preside over the function.

                                                                     Prof. John Kurakar