KMC grapples with demand-supply divide as Hooghly water level dips
Times of India | 13 May 2025
Kolkata: With a dip in the water level in the Hooghly due to scorching heat, and a subsequent rise in demand for potable water, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is trying hard to meet the growing gap. According to a KMC water supply department official, the Hooghly water level started dipping from the first week of May and posed a challenge for the civic body to meet the extra demand for potable water. A KMC source said the civic body may need to operate additional pumps at the intake jetty of the Palta water treatment plantfor longer hours to ensure that the capacity of the plant reaches the optimal limit to cater to the growing need for potable water with a sudden rise in temperature."Due to the soaring mercury, the demand for potable water has gone up across the city. Accordingly, we have decided to maximise our production capacity at Palta waterworks," said a KMC official, adding that the civic body may need to augment supply by 5-6 million gallons to meet the extra demand.Normally, the KMC supplies 225 million gallons of water from Palta from the second week of March every year. The Palta water treatment plant caters to the supply needs of the entire north, central, and large parts of south Kolkata.Similarly, the civic officials at the Garden Reach water treatment plant have augmented supply due to a growing demand for water from residents of large parts of south Kolkata. This treatment plant takes care of the supply to vast areas of Behala, the Tollygunge-Jadavpur belt, Garia, and several other south Kolkata neighbourhoods. "We have decided to augment the supply considering water scarcity in some pockets under the command zone of this plant. On an initial level, we may need to hike the supply by 3-4 million gallons per day. We may need to increase the volume of supply at the peak of summer," said a KMC water supply department official.Besides augmenting the supply from two major water treatment plants, the KMC water supply department is keeping ready a fleet of water tankers at some of the major booster pumping stations, particularly in the southern parts of the city. "Due to an abrupt rise in the mercury level, we have asked the officials in the borough offices to keep ready water tankers for mitigating crises in some of the worst-affected zones. Keeping in mind the tube-well zones in the Tollygunge-Jadavpur belt, we may need to keep ready over 100 water tankers every day," said a civic official.According to a KMC official, water demand is particularly rising in areas like Behala, Garia, Bansdroni, Baghajatin, Jadavpur, Santoshpur, Dhakuria, and Kasba, among others, where residents largely depend on groundwater. "Due to a depletion in the groundwater level, we are keeping a special vigil on the tube-well zones. We may need to send water tankers in large numbers to meet the demand," an official said.