New pumping stations in Velachery to prevent lake pollution

CHENNAI: In a move to prevent inflow of sewage into the Velachery lake, the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (Metrowater) commenced the construction of three new sewage pumping stations. State Municipal Administration minister KN Nehru laid foundation stones for the project on Monday.

"The pumping stations will be constructed at Rs. 4.08 crore near Velachery lake. After the completion of the stations, around 17,000 residents in Kakkan Nagar, Bhavani Nagar, Shastri Nagar and others will be benefited, " Nehru said.

Apart from the pumping stations in Velachery, the Minister also laid foundation stones to construct another sewage pumping station in Guindy with a capacity of 1.10 million litres per day (MLD). The station will come at a cost of Rs. 3.27 crore and the facility will benefit residents of Guindy, Maduvankarai and others.

Nehru added that cleaning and desilting of sewer pipes in all the 15 zones. "Also, works are ongoing to prevent sewage inflow into Adyar River at a cost of Rs. 125.05 Crore. Apart from this, as many as 36 projects are in progress to plug sewage inflow into Adyar, Cooum and Buckingham Canal at Rs 401.87 crore," he said.

Moreover, 12 sewage treatment plants are being renovated at Rs. 877.37 crore. The total treating capacity of the plants are 902 million litres per day.

"Tenders have been floated to construct a desalination plant with a capacity of 400 MLD at Rs. 6,078.40 Crore. The project will benefit 29 lakh people in the city," he said.