Neyveli water supply for Chennai from today

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, JUNE 18. The first batch of lorries carrying water from Neyveli arrived at the Metrowater filling station at Kilpauk here on Monday.

The Local Administration Minister, Mr C. Durairaj, released water from a tanker into a sump at the station.

The water will be distributed to the city residents from tomorrow, after it is treated at the Kilpauk plant.

Later talking to mediapersons, the Minister said that on the first day, 78 lorries carrying water arrived in the city and the number would go up to 500 in a phased manner.

Water from Erode would arrive by rail on June 21.

Each lorry would carry 10,000 litres of water. At present Metrowater was supplying about 160 million litres daily for the residents. With the arrival of water from Neyveli and Erode, it is hopeful, the daily supply would be stepped up to about 250 million daily.

Fifty per cent of the water received would be supplied through pipes and the other half through water tankers, said the Minister. A team of Metrowater officials would monitor the movement of tanker lorries at Neyveli, en route and also in the city to ensure that they safely reached the Kilpauk pumping station. In the next couple of days, all 500 lorries would bring water to the city.

Asked about the cost involved in the transportation from Neyveli, the Minister said the details were yet to be worked out. Asked whether Metrowater was planning to approach the Centre for a subsidy for the water supply, its managing director, Mr. Niranjan Mardi, said the possibility was being explored.

Our Cuddalore Staff Reporter reports:

Earlier, at Neyveli, the Public Works Minister, Mr. Thalavai S. Sundaram, flagged off the first consignment of water supply.

Accompanied by Mr. Durairaj, the Adi Dravida Welfare Minister, Mr. V. Subramanian, the Cuddalore Collector, Mr. S. Thangasamy, and the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Neyveli Lignite Corporation, Mr. A. K. Sahay, Mr. Sundaram flagged off the first lorry, first at the filling-yard on the Township campus and at the Neyveli arch at the exit point in the Township.

Later talking to newsmen, Mr. Sundaram made a scathing attack on DMK cadres for attempting to ``politicise'' supply of drinking water from the Neyveli and Veeranam sources to Chennai.

It was during the previous AIADMK regime that the proposal for executing the Veeranam project was taken up but as the DMK was ``apprehensive'' of its success now, it raised objections under ``cover of safeguarding the interests of the farming community.''

Mr. Sundaram said water supply from Neyveli would continue until the storage in Chennai reservoirs stabilised.

Adequate number of lorries would be pressed into service from Neyveli, and tenders had been called for.

As the tanker lorries were hitherto used for edible oil transport, care had been taken by Metrowater authorities to ensure thorough cleaning.

Mr. Sahay described the Corporation's co-ordination effort in water supply as a ``service by NLC'' in the cause of people of Chennai.

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