Stalin inaugurates combined drinking water project in Thoothukudi

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Thursday inaugurated, through video conference, the ₹515.72-crore worth combined drinking water project aimed at benefitting six panchayat unions in Thoothukudi district.

The project has been implemented by the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department.

The six panchayat unions covered under the project are Thoothukudi, Ottapidaram, Kayathar, Kovilpatti, Pudhur and Vilathikulam. The number of village panchayats to be supported includes five in Thoothukudi, four in Kayathar, seven in Kovilpatti, 36 in Ottapidaram, 40 in Pudhur and 45 in Vilathikulam.

Following the formal inauguration by the Chief Minister, Thoothukudi Collector K. Elambahavath participated in the inaugural event held at the drinking water purification station at Sedhuramalingapuram in North Vallanadu panchayat.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Elambahavath said the project, implemented at a cost of around ₹516 crore, would benefit 3.47 lakh people across six panchayat unions by meeting their daily drinking water needs.

He noted that the population was expected to rise to 3.50 lakh in 2029 and 3.96 lakh in 2054. “The project has been specially designed to meet the long-term needs.”

Mr. Elambahavath emphasised that the project aimed to supply 55 litres of drinking water per person per day. At present, the system was capable of supplying 1.01 crore litres of water per day that covers all villages and had been designed to increase pumping capacity to 1.65 crore litres per day by 2054.

“As part of the project, 42 ground level tanks and 60 new overhead tanks have been constructed. Along with the existing 356 overhead tanks in village panchayats, the total number of overhead tanks now stands at 396. In addition, pipelines have been laid 3over a distance of 1,042 km,” the Collector said.

Ottapidaram MLA M.C. Shunmugaiah, Vilathikulam MLA G.V. Markandayan and other officials were present.

The Chief Minister also inaugurated the ₹7.06-crore combined drinking water project benefiting three village panchayats in Thovalai union in Kanniyakumari district. The villages benefitted through the scheme are Kadukkarai, Thidal and Kattuppudhur, aiding a total of 9,300 people residing in the villages.