Hyderabad begins Rs 550 crore overhaul of ageing Manjeera water system

The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) has launched a Rs 550 crore overhaul of the ageing Manjeera drinking-water system, with the project aimed at reducing leakages, recurring breakdowns and water losses.

The Manjeera transmission network, built in the early 1970s with cement pipelines, is nearly five decades old and has become increasingly vulnerable to failures. The system is a key source of drinking water for Hyderabad’s western corridor.

Under the revamp, HMWSSB will construct a 232 million litres per day (MLD) water treatment plant at Kalabgoor, along with a new intake well, pump house and transmission infrastructure linking the facility with Patancheru and other parts of the city, reported The Times of India.

The project also includes a six-million-gallon clear water reservoir, a clear water pumping station and an electrical substation.

HMWSSB has invited bids for the work, which is scheduled to be completed within 24 months, including the monsoon period. The contractor selected for the project will also be responsible for operating and maintaining the system for five years after commissioning.

One of the main components of the project is the laying of 24.2 km of 1,700 mm-diameter pipeline from the Kalabgoor clear water reservoir to the Outer Ring Road. Another 5.5-km stretch of pipeline of the same diameter will connect the ORR to the Patancheru pump house.

The project also proposes replacing the existing network with 9.8 km of 1,500 mm-diameter pipeline between Patancheru and Hydernagar and laying a 900 mm-diameter pipeline from Patancheru to Lingampally.

Several road crossings along the pipeline route will be executed using trenchless technology to reduce disruption to traffic and existing infrastructure.

“The project is aimed at arresting leakages and frequent breakdowns and reducing unaccounted for/non-revenue water in the Manjeera system. It will also help in improving treatment capacity and replacing ageing pipelines,” an HMWSSB official said.

The project is intended to strengthen the transmission network while adding treatment capacity and replacing sections of the ageing pipeline system.