The Hale Unduwadi Drinking Water project fast taking shape in the upstream of the KRS will cater to the needs of Myusru with a projected population of 50 lakh for the next 60 years.
The government has sanctioned ₹350 crore for the project which has a planned capacity to pump 900 million liters daily (MLD) of water catering to Mysuru and 193 other villages in the vicinity.
The elected representatives including Mysuru MP Pratap Simha and Chamundeshwari MLA .G.T. Deve Gowda paid a visit to the project site on Thursday and urged the government to sanction ₹545 crore for the project so that its implementation was not further delayed.
Mr. Simha and Mr. Gowda said that the DPR for the project entailed an amount of ₹545 crore against which the State Government has sanctioned ₹350 crore in the first phase. ‘’But the full benefits of the project will materialise only on its completion and hence we have sought the release of ₹545 crore being the cost of the entire project plus an additional ₹45 crore towards cost escalation and GST’’, said Mr. Simha.
‘’We have apprised the government of the imperatives of sanctioning the full amount of ₹590 crore and it will be placed before the Cabinet for approval so that there was no delay in its implementation’’, according to Mr. Simha and Mr. Gowda.
The project envisages the projected population of Mysuru to be around 5 million by 2081 and the Hale Unduwadi drinking water works is on the lines of mega project conceived by the maharajas which has lasted more than a century, according to officials.
The existing drinking water projects catering to Mysuru are all located in the downstream of the dam and hence whenever there is a drought, it affects the drinking water supply to the city. But the current project is on the upstream of the dam and the jack wells will draw water even if the reservoir level is at 48 feet. At present they tend to run dry in case the storage level in the reservoir dips to 68 feet.
The land requirement is 123.07 acres spread over Mysuru and Mandya districts and an amount of ₹50 crore has been deposited for the purpose. The length of the pipeline from the water treatment plant to the city will be around 20 km and the project is being implemented by Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board incorporating the best practices in construction industry and adopting the state-of-the-art technology, according to the officials.
Mr. Simha and Mr. Gowda said the project is expected to be ready by July 2023 and will ensure permanent supply of drinking water to Mysuru and surrounding regions. Senior officials of KUWSDB were also present.
