With Phase IV of underground drainage project, coverage will improve to 90% of Tiruchi city

Work on Phase IV of the underground drainage (UGD) project, covering the peripheral areas in the city, is likely to commence within this month

Work on Phase IV of the underground drainage (UGD) project, covering the peripheral areas in the city, is likely to commence within this month.

The project will be executed under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0 scheme at a cost of ₹221.39 crore. All areas that were left out in the Phase I, II and III UGD projects will be included in Phase IV.

The civic body floated a tender in February for finalising the contractor. “The tender has been awarded, and the project is expected to commence within this month,” said a senior Corporation official. The project would be completed within three years from the date of commencement of work.

According to sources, eight wards in zones III, IV, and V, including Kuzhumani Road in Ward 8, Vayalur Road in Ward 25, Ponmalaipatti in Ward 46, Karumandapam in Ward 55, K.K. Nagar and K. Sathanur residential areas in Wards 63, 64, and 65, will be covered in the project. Underground pipelines will be laid running to a length of about 143 km, and 16,500 household connections provided.

With the implementation of the new project, the official said, the coverage of the underground drainage system in the city would increase to more than 90%.

Officials said that Phase IV will be connected to the upcoming sewage treatment plant in Panjapur, which will have a capacity to treat about 100 million litres a day (MLD) of sewage. The STP is expected to be commissioned ahead of the UGD project.

The Corporation, under Phase II, Phase III, and the Smart Cities Mission, has been implementing the UGD project in 45 wards in the city. Phase II began in 2018 at an estimate of ₹344 crore while Phase III work commenced in 2019 at a cost of ₹366 crore. They are executed under the AMRUT scheme.