BMC focus on supplying water to new growth areas

Kolkata: The Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has shifted focus on augmenting surface water to new growth areas. With Salt Lake now getting filtered surface water supply, BMC wants to bring a parity in the water distribution and supply system covering both Salt Lake and Rajarhat.
Take for example the Rajarhat Main Road that connects Chinar Park to Rajarhat Chowmatha. Several high-rises, both residential and commercial, have come up on both sides off the road. In comparison to Salt Lake, residents of this huge area which falls under BMC’s jurisdiction, mostly depend on groundwater reserves. With several residential complexes coming up, there is a huge demand for water. Shortage of water occurs specially during peak summer.
“The iron content in the water that we get is very high. We hope to get filtered surface water supply soon,” said Kaustav Dey, an IT professional, residing at a gated community close to Chinar Park.
Not only Rajarhat-Gopalpur area, people staying in the added areas of BMC like Mohisgote, Chaynabhi, Sukantanagar and the huge bheri area, still depend on groundwater to meet their demands. Many collect water from the taps located at various points and also cross EM Bypass to go to Beliaghata.
“The water that we get has high iron content as it is mostly pulled up from underground resources. Also, we often face shortage of water during summer,” said Saptarshi Mondal, resident of Sukantanagar.
Currently, BMC receives 11 MGD of filtered water per day in which seven MGD comes from Tallah and the rest from the New Town water treatment plant. However, most of this water is supplied in and around Salt Lake area only as the civic body depends on ground water for the rest of Rajarhat-Gopalpur and the added areas.
BMC water supply department officials said that the plan is to set up booster pumping stations, overhead water tanks and underground water reservoirs across Rajarhat-Gopalpur area falling under BMC ward 1 to 21 and also in the added areas adjacent to Salt Lake in wards 35 and 36 to fetch more filtered water from New Town treatment plant which is also increasing its capacity.
Civic officials said there are also plans to consult experts regarding the issue. “The aim is to facilitate surface water supply to all households across BMC area,” said a civic official.
The authorities have increased the budget for augmenting water supply in BMC area. An allocation of Rs 3 crore has been proposed for the 2022-23 financial year.
According to officials, the New Town water treatment plant now produces 20 million gallon per day water and its capacity will soon be increased to 100 MGD. Once this happens, Bidhannagar is slated to get 34 MGD of water. Plans are on for BMC to receive an additional four MGD of filtered water soon, out of which two will be from Tallah.