Trial run of JICA-aided water project under way

The trial run of transmission of drinking water under the multi-crore Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-assisted drinking water project is under way. 

Project Director K.G. Harshan on Tuesday said on-ground checking of the main transmission lines across 23 km till Balussery had been completed. “We are in the final stages of the project,” he said. However, on the flipside, the drinking water project will not benefit domestic users this summer as the checking of mainlines would be tentatively completed only by May 30.

The Rs.805.6-crore project, set to provide 174 MLD (million litres per day) water from the Peruvannamuzhi reservoir, is expected to benefit 13 lakh people and provide over 1 lakh domestic connections for consumers across 13 panchayats in the district. 

The project, once commissioned, would supply drinking water to Kozhikode city and the panchayats of Balussery, Nanmanda, Kakkoor, Kakkodi, Chelannur, Narikuni, Kunnamangalam, Kurivattoor, Peruvayal, Perumanna, Kadalundy, Olavanna, and Thalakkulathur.

Currently, the city requires 140 MLD water, but the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) is able to supply only 50 MLD after distribution loss. This results in erratic supply of water. The JICA-assisted project will ensure that water is supplied on a daily basis. 

“We have to check the entire pipelines across 123 km. As the exercise has been completed till Balussery, we will move on to pipeline systems in Kakkoor, Chelannur, Kakkodi and Kozhikode city, which has the highest number of consumers,” Mr. Harshan said.

Though work was scheduled to be completed by April 31, issues like a stop memo from the Peruvannamuzhi village officer owing to protests by local people, the controversy over the Kasturirangan panel recommendations and a prolonged quarry owners’ strike leading to shortage in raw materials had delayed the rolling-out of the project.

“Till Balussery, we countered minor repairs in the pipeline. The rectification work has to be minutely done on mainlines and so we cannot give a specific deadline. But as of now, we hope the work will be completed by May 30,” said the project director.