Water purification unit to be stationed at Halady, not baje

Udupi: The work of setting up water purification plant for supplying water to the city will begin once the process of acquiring land for the project at Halady in Kundapur taluk is concluded, informed Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation executive engineer Ramakrishnaiah.

Speaking at the Bailoor ward level public consultation meeting organized at Ammanni Ramanna Shetty Mini Hall here on Tuesday August 20, he said that the purification plant will meet water requirement of the city through Varahi river.

The programme was conducted on the issue of 24 x 7 drinking water supply scheme for the city and other works by the said corporation under the Karnataka Integrated Urban Water Management Investment Programme (KIUWMIP) Branch 2.

“A decision to house the water purification plant of the water supply scheme, total project cost of which is Rs 339 crore, relating to the project at Halady instead of Baje has already been taken. For this purpose, three sites have been identified in Halady and discussion was held with the deputy commissioner of the district during this week on the issue of acquiring the land that costs the least,” he informed.

Explaining that the purification plant costing Rs 67 lakh would pump 41 MLD water to the city, Ramakrishnaiah said that the villages on the path of the pipeline from Halady to Udupi would be provided water as per their requirements and meters would be nstalled for the villages, and the bills will be collected by the city municipality, he said.

“35 wards in the city have been divided in 17 divisions on the basis of elevation and low-lying areas. These wards already have ten overhead tanks, and new tanks would be built at several spots including Bailoor ward. The distribution network of the project is spread over 371 km,” stated the EE.

“Already survey has been conducted in connection with this project through house to house visits, and those who get contract for the works will be responsible for its maintenance for six months since the date of completion, and tender conditions have been included to this affect,” he explained and added that the project has been envisaged by taking into account water requirement of the city in the year 2046 when the population is expected to reach 1.95 lakh.

Speaking on the occasion, city municipal councillor from Bailoor ward, Ramesh Kanchan, said that currently, water is being provided to Bailoor ward from Ajjarkad and Indiranagar tanks, which has been creating problems and hence, water will be supplied to the entire ward from the tank that is proposed to be built here. He added that this is the dream project of Pramod Madhwaraj and said that with the inflow of water from Varahi to the city, a permanent solution would be provided to the water problem here.