Water tank ready for commissioning

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A relief is in sight for the water woes of those residents in and around Kudappanakkunnu. The commissioning activities of the newly-constructed water tank at Kudappanakkunnu as part of the Thiruvananthapuram phase of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JICA)-aided water supply project are nearing completion. The tank, with a capacity of 35 lakh litres, has been constructed at Kudappanakkunnu dairy farm, near the National Coir Research Institute. “Once the tank gets operational, we will be able to cater to the demands of the residents in and around Kudappanakkunnu, especially those living in the high-lying areas under the old Kudappanakkunnu panchayat,” a JICA official said. No date has been declared as of yet regarding the official commissioning of the tank. Meanwhile, the booster pumping station near the Civil Station at Kudappanakkunnu has been energised and the trial run will commence soon, an official said. “The tank is being disinfected  now,” he added. The pumping station is unmanned. Once it gets fully functional, its working can be controlled from the centralised control room at Vellayambalam. “You can call it online boosting. A highlight of the JICA project is that we are using the SCADA software, wherein everything is centrally controlled from the Central Control Room on the Observatory campus, Vellayambalam,” the official said. Also, charging of the distribution lines laid as part of the project is being carried out these days. The valve leaks and other problems that came to light are being attended to.  Meanwhile, the work on various components of the JICA project is progressing. “We need to complete the construction of the water tanks at PTP Nagar and Vellayambalam. Both the works are about 80 per cent complete,” an official said. Interconnection work of various distribution lines has to be undertaken, besides filling up the gaps in various pipeline networks. And one component that has not seen any progress is the work on the route that has been worked out as an alternative to the Palayam - Chackai road. This stretch laid under the Capital City Improvement Programme (CRIP) was to be cut open from near the Asan Square. The Road Fund Board was against digging up this well-laid stretch, ie Asan Square-AKG Centre- General Hospital- Pattoor- Pettah- Pallimukku- Chackai. However, an alternative route was worked out by officials. While the Pallimukku-Chackai stretch remains unaltered in the new plan, a new route was finalised till Pallimukku to distribute water from the tank at Observatory Hills. As per the alternative arrangement, the pipes from Observatory Hills will take the Nandavanam - Bishop Pereira Hall route and will be taken to the other side, ie to the road near the CSI Church. From near the CSI Church, the pipelines will take the Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium - MLA Quarters route to enter Kunnukuzhi Road. The route from there is Thampuranmukku- Moolavilakom- Vadekkad- Kannammoola-Pallimukku. “However, a stalemate is continuing over this work,” a source pointed out.