Vellore Corporation begins providing drainage connections to households in town

More than a decade after it was proposed, the ₹1,000-crore Underground Drainage (UGD) project in Vellore town has taken root as Vellore Corporation commences the process of providing drainage connections to individual households.

Corporation officials said that the multi-crore project was being implemented under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2016-17 in four phases. “The Corporation has started providing drainage connections to households in areas under phase 2 and 3 of the UGD project. Most of the areas will be covered under these two phases of the work,” A. Catherine Saranya, Commissioner, Vellore Corporation, told The Hindu.

Corporation officials said that of the 1.41 lakh households in the town, around 71,000 drainage connections would be given under phases 2 and 3 of the project. Areas like Alamelumangapuram, Sathuvachari, Shenbakkam, Konavattam, Kaspa and Velapadi will be covered. “The connections provided to households under the UGD project will prevent discharge of wastewater into stormwater drains. It will also help towards improvement of hygiene in the area,” said S. Padma, a resident.

Divided into four phases, the project covers around 750 km of sewer lines, 16 pumping and lifting stations and two large STPs. Tricky spots, including 32 km on the service lane of Chennai – Bengaluru Highway (NH 48), 16 railway crossing spots, and State Highway stretches (7 km) have been completed.

Sewage treatment plants have been built at Muthu Mandapam near new bus terminus and at Sarkar Thoppu near Katpadi to handle at least 60.5 MLD. The civic body has built a pipe carrying bridge, which is 650 metres long, along the Palar river, to carry household sewerage from 32 wards, mostly from Old Town areas to the newly-constructed STP near Katpadi. The bridge is being built at a height of 20 feet from the river bed to prevent inundation during monsoon. The new STP has a capacity of 50MLD.

Civic officials said that the new drainage network would help to prevent inundation of Vellore town during monsoon as wastewater from houses would now get discharged into the drainage network.

In other words, illegal discharge of wastewater into stormwater drains would stop, thereby allowing free flow of excess rainwater in the drains that would get discharged into the Palar river.

Corporation officials said that each household connection, on an average, would cost around ₹7,000. However, the deposit amount would be collected in instalments from consumers after adding it to property tax.