Arani town gets additional 20 lakh litres to meet its water shortfall

A portion of water supplied to Vellore is given to the town

The Vellore Combined Water Supply Scheme (CWSS) has brought much-needed relief to residents of Arani, near Tiruvannamalai, which will get 20 lakh litres of water a day to meet the shortfall.

Accompanied by Collector B. Murugesh, Minister for Public Works, Highways and Minor Ports E.V. Velu inaugurated the scheme in the town on Sunday. The ₹1,295-crore CWSS, which has been functional since December 2015, covers the Vellore Corporation, 11 municipalities, five town panchayats and 944 rural habitations in Vellore, Ranipet and Tirupattur districts.

The scheme is being implemented by the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD Board). “A portion of water [20 lakh litres a day] that is supplied to the Vellore Corporation has been given to the town to meet the shortfall. This is a stop-gap measure,” P. Tamilselvi, Commissioner, Arani municipality, told The Hindu.

At present, the town requires 65 lakh litres a day to meet the needs of 70,062 residents. On an average, each person needs at least 90 litres a day. However, the local body has been able to supply only 43 lakh litres, a quantum drawn from major storage points at Muppathuvetti near Arcot and Thatchur and Ullur villages near Arani. Water from the Kamadala river, near the town, is also supplied to meet the shortfall, officials said.

The shortage meant water was supplied once a week to households in the municipality that has 33 wards. Hence, the municipality decided to seek additional 20 lakh litres from the TWAD Board. Subsequently, pipelines to a length of 1,980 metres were laid along the route of the CWSS that has the Cauvery as its source. The entire cost of the project was ₹22.50 crore, which was drawn from the general funds of the municipality.

Officials said that the CWSS, which is capable of providing 215 million liter per day to 24.46 lakh residents, covers key areas, including Vellore, Tirupattur, Jolarpet, Vaniyambadi, Ambur, Pernambut, Gudiyatham, Melvisharam, Arcot, Ranipet, Walajapet and Arakkonam.