TWAD realigns key water pipelines in Vellore’s Old Town to resume water supply

Regular drinking water supply to household consumers within Vellore Corporation limits will be resumed from Monday (June 8) onwards as Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD) has completed realignment of key water pipelines on Old Bypass Road near fort complex in Old Town on Sunday.

TWAD officials said that the realignment of water pipelines on Old Bypass Road, which is maintained by State Highways, was aimed to provide adequate space to lay foundation pillars for under construction Road Over Bridge (ROB) by Southern Railway.

The realignment of the decades-old pipelines would help to prevent water seepage on the route. Consumers in tail end areas will get adequate water supply by preventing such seepage. “Water supply by TWAD remains a major component in fulfilling domestic water needs within Corporation limits. Local water sources are also utilized to meet water needs,” R. Lakshman, Commissioner, Vellore Corporation, told The Hindu.

TWAD officials said that the existing water pipelines from Muthu Mandapam near bus terminus, off Chennai – Bengaluru Highway (NH 48), on the banks of Palar have been connected to two large water pumping stations in Old Town. Pumping station on Filter Bed Road has a capacity of 39 lakh litres of water and another pumping station at Allapuram can store 15 lakh litres of water.

These two pumping stations help to meet water needs of almost half of the entire population in the Corporation, which covers 60 wards in four zones with around eight lakh persons. “Being an arid region, Vellore faces water scarcity especially during summer. Water supplied by the civic body remains a key water source for residents in the town,” said R. Prema, a resident.

TWAD officials said as part of realignment work, 700 mm pipelines were relocated to the extreme end of the stretch, which is 40-ft wide. Earlier, these pipelines were located in the middle of the stretch. In other words, the pipelines were shifted to a distance of 7.5 metres on the stretch to provide space to lay foundation pillars for the bridge work. The realignment of the pipelines has been done to a distance of around 120 metres on the stretch.

Corporation officials said that realignment of the pipelines especially to the extreme end of the stretch will also help to do pipeline repair works in an isolated way without disturbing traffic flow on the route. The damaged stretch due to pipeline work will be re-laid by TWAD before handed over to State Highways.

Civic officials said that at present, the total water demand of the civic body is 83 MLD per day. Of this, TWAD alone provides around 63 MLD every day. Local water sources including borewells in Otteri lake and Ponnai river bed are roped to meet water shortfall for daily consumption.