In one of the biggest water projects ever considered in Kolkata, the civic body plans to link two of its major water pumping stations through a 70-km-long pipeline, creating a ‘water grid’ that will not only end the city’s water woes in five years but also prepare it for the future.
Kolkata Municipal Corporation has submitted the proposal to the state government to be included in the AMRUT scheme. It will cost a whopping Rs 1,400 crore and ensure uninterrupted supply of filtered water to every home even in the added areas and protect groundwater from further depletion.
The plan is to link Palta waterworks near Barrackpore with the Garden Reach water treatment plant in the south-western part of the city.
Once the link-up happens, KMC can get water from Palta to supply all the ‘dry’ areas.
The new pipeline will run along EM Bypass till Garia and then travel along Tolly’s Nullah to Kudghat, where it will take a left turn to meet MG Road and finally merge with an existing line on James Long Sarani to link up with the Garden Reach network.
An added advantage of running the pipeline along EM Bypass is that the newly built Dhapa water treatment plant will also be connected with both Palta and Garden Reach waterworks.
Mayor Sovan Chatterjee is gung ho about the project and said it will be “really useful” to the city.
