Boost for supply of treated water across Kolkata this year

KOLKATA: The civic body is set to take a big leap this year to meet the challenge of supplying filtered water across Kolkata. The KMC’s water supply department is banking on two major water augmentation projects — one of which is almost complete and the other is expected to be over by the end of the year — to achieve this target. Enhancement of the capacity of a water treatment plant constitutes the third project, which will benefit lakhs in areas off Bypass.

When construction of a 20 million-gallon plant at Palta waterworks is completed in April, it will be able to cater to the added demand for drinking water in Beliaghata, Maniktala, Kankurgachhi, Narkeldanga Arabinda Sarani and large parts of Tangra. This plant has been an integral part of a water supply augmentation project for large parts of north and east Kolkata. At present, Palta water treatment plant supplies 242 million gallon of filtered water to around 6 million people.

The water treatment plant at Palta.

The added capacity will also cater to the drinking water needs in neighbouring municipalities, like north and south Dum Dum, and Kamarhati. Once the treatment plant is operational, it will supply more water to around 5 lakh north Kolkata residents through Chawalpatti (Beliaghata) and New Park (Palmerbazar) booster pumping stations, said a water supply department official. “We decided to enhance the capacity of Palta water treatment plant to meet additional demands from Beliaghata, Narkeldanga and Tangra areas,” an official said.

Similarly, the civic officials are working on war footing to finish the construction of a 25 million-gallon water treatment plant at Garden Reach waterworks. The plant is expected to be operational by the end of the year, said another official. The new plant will benefit nearly 6 lakh people in areas like Garden Reach, Behala, New Alipore, Kalighat, Chetla, Tollygunge and Jadavpur. It will operate through multiple booster pumping stations that have recently been constructed or are under construction in Behala, Tollygunge and Jadavpur areas.

Enhancing the capacity of Jai Hind water treatment plant at Dhapa is also high on the civic body’s agenda. At present, the plant can produce 40 million gallon filtered water. The water supply department has been asked to augment its production by 7 million -gallon. The additional water will benefit residents of Topsia, Annandapur, Kalikapur, Naskarhat, Madurdaha, Kasba and Mukundapur, said an official. “We also need to build several underground and overhead water reservoirs for storage of the treated water,” said a civic official.