Co-ordination meeting for Piloor water line problem !
An exclusive sub-station was among the proposals made at a meeting on Saturday of the district administration, Coimbatore Corporation, Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board and the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board to solve the problem of frequent bursts in the Pilloor drinking water main supply line.
District Collector V. Palanikumar chaired the meeting, which aimed at ending a series of power trips that resulted in water hammer pressure bursting cement pipes. Commissioner Anshul Mishra and water supply officials represented the Coimbatore Corporation. Chief Engineer of the electricity board A. Thangavel and Executive Engineer (Pilloor) of TWAD Board S. Rathinavelu took part in the meeting.A massive breach in the Pilloor drinking water main supply line on Thursday forced this co-ordination meeting. This was the first such meeting in nearly a decade that sought to discuss temporary and permanent measures to ensure that water supply was not disrupted by the tripping in power supply.The line burst on Thursday was said to be the latest in a long list of those caused by the tripping of power.
Electricity board officials explained that power lines passing through the forests at Velliyangadu were snapped by trees that were uprooted by strong winds. This reply was in response to complaints of a number of disruptions in four to five days.While the electricity board admitted to this problem, it, however, attributed other instances of bursts to the non-provision of pressure release valves in the pipes.
At the start of the meeting, the Collector wanted to know why the Corporation was not able to supply drinking water properly in the Pilloor-served areas. The Corporation Commissioner responded by saying that the city should get 66 million litres a day of Pilloor water. But, the line bursts often denied this quantity to the city. Water board officials responded to this by pointing out that power tripping led to the bursts and the consequent disruption in water supply.
Electricity board officials said tree branches fell on the power lines and disrupted supply. Sometimes, heavy rain and strong winds uprooted trees and these fell on the lines. Prevent damage .Mr. Mishra suggested that the electricity board could prune the branches to prevent damage to the power lines. This would prevent the loss of time in repairing water line bursts and also disruption in supply.The Collector asked the electricity board officials to submit proposals for a sub-station near the pumping station at Velliyankadu and other measures for preventing line bursts.
The pumping of Pilloor water to the main service reservoir at Saravanampatti began on Friday night and Corporation officials said the supply within the city had resumed.
