Taxpayers assn. demands replacement of drinking water pipelines and construction of check dam
Old drinking water pipelines should be replaced with High Density Polyethylene ones to prevent leakages and cross contamination of pipelines in the city, members of the Taxpayers Association demanded.
Addressing the mediapersons here on Tuesday, they said the drinking water pipelines were laid decades ago. “These, made of mud, are prone to breakage. Since drainages and drinking water pipelines are located close, contamination happens everytime the drainage overflows, which is usually during the rainy season,” association secretary M.V. Anjaneyelu said, adding that the issue would be resolved only with replacement of the old pipelines with HDP ones.
The members also demanded that a check dam be constructed over Krishna river downstream Prakasam Barrage to store 5 tmcft flood water. He said according to Indian Standards Code IS 1172, in cities with population of more than a lakh, on an average 150 to 200 litres of water per head had to be supplied.
“On this basis, it would require 2.7 tmcft (1 tmcft is 2,831 crore litres) of water to provide water to 14 lakhs residents of Vijayawada every day. Apart from domestic use, water needs to be supplied to small industries, hospitals, hotels, offices, restaurants and others. We also have to factor in the evaporation of water. At the same time, some water has to be to stored in the case of poor rainfall. All these put together would demand another 2.5 tmc of water,” he explained.
While on one hand the water in the Paraksam Barrage is reducing day by day, the water level in the Pulichintala has hit dead storage level. As the Godavari water level fell to below 14 metres, it was not possible to supply Godavari water through Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Project. If it doesn’t rain in the next two months in the upstream area, Vijayawada would be staring at water crisis. Such problems could arise in the future, too, he said.
Moreover, more than 50% of the population in the city depended on borewell water for their everyday needs, association secretary M.V. Anjaneyulu said. “The corporation too is supplying water through borewells. It is sad that despite being on the banks of a river, the city is having to depend on borewell water. Hence the demand for a check dam,” he said, adding that they submitted a memorandum to Vijayawada Municipal Corporation Commissioner Swapnil Dinkar Pundkar and have written letters to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Ministers of various departments.
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Andhra Pradesh
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Vijayawada
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civic infrastructure