AKVN's 350cr water project for Pithampur okayed

Indore: Audhyogik Kendra Vikas Nigam (AKVN) Indore has got approval for the Rs 350 crore project of Narmada-Kshipra river link which would cater the needs of more than 600 industries at the Pithampur Industrial Area. The decision was taken at a meeting held at state capital.
Planning to make it operational in 2018, AKVN would be floating tenders for the project and developers are to be short listed by this week.The project is aimed at developing infrastructure for the water supply system for transmission and distribution of 90 MLD (million litres per day) water in the industrial area.
"We have received approval from government, the process of tendering would begin soon and we are hopeful that the work process can be expedited. It will fetch water from Narmada-Kshipra link which we will store at tanks in Simrol and Rau (Pitahmpur)," said Kumar Purushottam, Managing Director, AKVN.
The water from this project will also be supplied to the investment region developed under the DMIC (Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor) project. Speaking about the problems that industries at Pithampur are facing, Purushottam, said, "We are aware about the problems faced by industries in summers. By 2018, we would be in a position to supply water to the industries,"
At present, water supply of almost 50 lakh litres every day is carried by water tankers at Pithampur industrial area in Sector-3, Phase-1 of Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and Kheda. According to official figures, water bodies --- Karam dam and Sanjay Jalashay -- are the two sources, which currently fulfill the water requirement of industries having a capacity of 32.4 MLD.
Industries association has been fuming over delay in water project and the problems that industries are facing on daily basis. "This project will certainly help industries but for the next two years industries will have to keep grappling with water shortage. On one hand the state government has been talking about foreign investments and on the other it is unable to cater to the needs of the already existing industries," said Gautam Kothari, president, Pithampur Industry Association.