KOZHIKODE: After years of stagnation, the Japan-aided Drinking Water Project in Kozhikode district is finally showing signs of life. Kerala Water Authority officials told ‘Express’ that a survey, currently being carried out at a proposed source location in the Peruvannamuzhi dam, is expected to be completed in a couple of days and the results, if positive, will remove one of the major roadblocks for the project in the district.“A different location in the Peruvannamuzhi dam was initially proposed but construction there involved blasting of rocks at the surface. This was opposed by the dam authorities and environmental activists. Then the present location at a deeper spot was proposed but the contractor demanded more money citing the increased complexity of the work there,” said an official of the KWA on the condition of anonymity.The survey is being conducted by the officials of Degremont - the company which has taken up the contract for works in Kozhikode. This development comes after a study team from IIT Madras, commissioned to study the technical feasibility of basing the project at the location, replied in the affirmative.The project with a state-wide budget of `1,850 crore was supposed to have been completed a couple of years ago. The official is confident that the wrangles that caused the project to miss deadlines are now a thing of past.“Administration delays are over and we are optimistic that the project will be completed in a couple of years,” he said. Work in the Thiruvanathapuram district is almost complete with the residents of the capital city already enjoying the benefits of the water project. “The project in Thriuvananthapuram district is 80 per cent complete and the remaining works will be completed soon,” said Deputy Project Manager N Vijayakumar.Officials in Alappuzha said that more than 90 per cent work of the project has been completed and that it is near commissioning. “Piping in certain areas and a few electricity works are all that remain to be completed and we are aiming to include the commissioning of the project in the chief minister’s 100-day programme,” they said.The project in Kannur too is in its advanced stages with officials putting the completion rate at above 80 per cent. “Work on an intake welcome pump house and pumping mechanism is currently progressing here. Everything except the distribution network will be commissioned on September 5 and most of the distribution mechanism will be completed by December,” said the officials.In Kollam, officials said that ‘three out of four phases had been completed’ but the remaining works had been held up due to the contractor in charge of the distribution not fulfilling his commitments.Work would resume as soon as the process of terminating the contract and finding a new contractor is complete.
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