No respite for commuters as UGD project drags on

Coimbatore: A seemingly never-ending underground drainage work has made commuting a nightmare on the Kurichi-Kuniyamuthur stretch.The work, which was launched in 2018, should have been completed by 2021, but is dragging on, causing inconvenience to commuters as well as residents in the south zone.The project was taken up by the city corporation at a cost of 591 crore with the help of the Asian Development Bank. The Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board is implementing the project on behalf of the corporation.The project involves construction of a 30.5 MLD sewage water treatment plant at Vellalore, laying pipelines for about 435km, construction of 19 lift stations and providing sewerage connections to 69,658 houses in wards between 87 and 100 of the city corporation.While the project missed the initial deadline of 2021, it missed subsequent deadlines also, the latest being March 2023.K Jeevanantham, a resident of Sundarapuram, said pocket roads are still being dug up for the project. “Commuting has become very difficult as it takes months to repair the dug-up roads.”Work taken up in a place should be completed before moving to the next place, said R Jayakumar of Kuniyamuthur. “The damaged roads should be repaired before work is shifted to the next location. We were told that work will be completed within a few months. But it has been more than one-and-a-half years since the promise was made,” he said.The officials concerned have been instructed to take up work at one place at a time to avoid problems faced by residents, said south zone chairperson R Dhanalakshmi. “The work was delayed as it took more time to restore the damaged pipelines. The work is currently in progress only in ward 93 and 94.”The project is expected to be completed by October, corporation commissioner M Prathap told TOI. “As much as 82% of the work is over. We have deployed more men to speed up the work. More than 31,000 house connections have been given and 96% of the pipeline laying works have been completed. The sewage treatment plant is also ready.”