Kolkata aims for top slot in water supply

Kolkata Municipal Corporation will be investing in enhancement of filtered water capacity, construction of boosting stations and laying of more than 200km of pipelines in the city area over the next year to augment water supply and make Kolkata the best city in the country in terms of water supply, municipal commissioner Debasis Som said.

Besides these projects in the city area, KMC was also looking at a Rs 100 crore giant water pipeline and treatment plant from Mallickghat on the river Hoogly in the west to the newly emerging east Kolkata areas of Chingrihata and Rajarhaat. The government of West Bengal would be the partner in this project, Som added.

The demand for water in the KMC are had been projected at 350 million gallons a day (mgd). To meet this demand, KMC had virtually completed augmentation of water generation capacity to 240mgd at its Palta plant on the river Hoogly and 90mgd at a new unit at Garden Reach.

Two localised treatment units would be built as well- at Barabazar in the north and Watgunj in the south-east.

The projects would be funded through municipal bonds of Rs 50 crore and generation of Rs 120 crore from KMC's pioneering scheme for past revenue collection through one-time settlement of disputes with interest penalty waiver, Som pointed out.

However, the present shortage of filtered water in the city was also in part due leakage and lack of a distribution network. To tackle the first, older iron pipes were being repaired using a unique new technology. HDPE pipes were being drawn in through older leaking steel pipes like a sleeve, Som indicated.

As a result, the high level of leakage from older pipes was being tackled without disrupting water supply for repairs.

Supply pressure could also be stepped up through repaired pipes from new boosting stations at Bagmari in the north and Kasba, Ranikuthi, Bansdroni and Kalighat in the south.

Southern Kolkata would in fact get a new network from Taratalla via Majherhat, Alipore, Chetla, Kalighat, P A Shah Road, Jadavpur and Ranikuthi. A primary water grid would be built in Behala, Som commented.

The total pipeline project cost was around Rs 46 crore including civil works and bridges. The boosting stations would cost Rs 88 crore. The distribution function would get an additional allocation of Rs 25 crore this fiscal. All these projects would be completed between December 2004 and March 2005.

In the pipeline

• KMC will lay more than 200 kms of pipeline in city
• It will also construct a Rs 100 cr pipeline and treatment plant from Mallkickghat on Hoogly to east Kolkata