Thane/Palghar, Sep 16 (IANS): Notching a significant milestone, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) achieved a breakthrough on the Surya Regional Water Supply Project by completing the work on the crucial underground tunnel running through the Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, a top official said here on Saturday.

The MMRDA is constructing the 4.6-km long subterranean tunnel which has an internal diameter of 2.85 metres in this wildlife sanctuary.

The water will be channelled through this tunnel to the Chene Master Balancing Reservoir and then distributed to the Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation (Thane) and Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (Palghar) regions, said MMRDA Metropolitan Commissioner Dr. Sanjay Mukherjee.

The excavation was done using a modern Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) at a depth of 55 metres for the mega water supply project that comprises total 4 tunnels, the first one at Mendhwankhind is completed and the remaining three are coming up in the second phase, including the Tungareshwar Tunnel.

On completion, the Tungareshwar Tunnel will provide an additional 218 million litres daily water to MBMC’s population of over 1.60 million, enhancing the supply to over 403 mld, said Dr. Mukherjee.

After full commissioning even the VVCMC will receive an additional 170 mld, and around 44 villages en route will get 15 mld, besides 218 mld to MBMC.

This is the MMRDA’s first water supply project in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region to cater to the fast-growing urban agglomerations of Mira-Bhayander and Vasai-Virar towns which have a growth rate of more than 50 percent.

The project involved lifting water from Kawadas pick weir on the downstream of Surya Dam in Vikramgad (Palghar), through vertical turbine pumps, then undergoing treatment and then transferred to a Break Pressure Tank for distribution to the Kashid-kopar Reservoir in Vasai-Virar and the Chene Reservoir in Mira-Bhayander town through underground water pipelines.