The Tiruchi Corporation has revived the defunct pumping station of the erstwhile Golden Rock Drinking Water Supply Scheme to supply water to five additional wards in Thiruverumbur and Kattoor areas.
The pumping station, located on the banks of the Kaveri River near Ayyalamman Bathing Ghat, was a major drinking water scheme for the then Golden Rock Municipality residents. It had the capacity to pump 27 million liters of water (MLD) a day. The scheme started losing its importance as the state government merged the Golden Rock and Srirangam municipalities with the Tiruchi municipality to form the Tiruchi corporation.
Due to frequent technical glitches in the drinking water scheme, the Tiruchi Corporation abandoned the scheme about 12 years ago. It supplied water to the residents of Golden Rock through its other sources in the Kaveri river bed.
It was during the same period that five wards were added to Tiruchy Corporation through the delimitation process in 2011. The Tamil Nadu Water and Drainage Board (TWAD) board was supplying water to the residents of the added areas till then. With an aim to supply 135 liters of water to each resident in wards 61 to 65, the corporation prepared a new scheme in 2015 and started construction work in 2016. Though the civic body has completed around 75% of the work, it is yet to be completed. Construction work of pumping station on the bed of river Kaveri near Melur. It is expected that it will take at least six more months to complete the work.
Keeping in view the importance of ensuring drinking water to the residents of the newly added areas, the corporation has revived the closed Golden Rock drinking water scheme.
A senior corporation official told The Hindu that five MLD water was being extracted from the collector well of the Golden Rock scheme in a day. The entire quantity of water was supplied to the residents of Thiruverumbur, Kattoor and its surrounding areas. In addition, TWAD supplied five MLD. This system will continue till the completion of the pumping station near Melur.