Kolkata: In another two years, residents staying in parts of Jodhpur Park, Lake Gardens and neighbourhoods off EM Bypass (closer to Avisikta) — Kalitala Main Road, Sri Hari Pally, Square Land Park, Golden Park, Dakshinayan Society and School Road — won't have to depend on groundwater. Mayor Firhad Hakim has laid foundation stones for two semi-underground water reservoirs and two more water booster pumping stations that will be made ready for supplying potable water by the end of 2027. While the booster pumping station at Mandir Para Uttaran off EM Bypass, with a capacity to store 40.9 lakh litres, will source water from the Dhapa water treatment plant, the booster pumping station at Jodhpur Park will get raw water from the Garden Reach plant.
According to a civic official, besides mitigating the water crisis in south Kolkata, the purpose of constructing the water booster pumping stations was to reduce dependence on groundwater and supply safe drinking water from the treatment plants. "We are searching for small plots in several parts of the Tollygunge-Jadavpur belt for construction of small booster pumping stations to supply safe drinking water to the residents who are now compelled to drink groundwater. The search is on in some neighbourhoods off EM Bypass as well, as we can't find large plots for construction of bigger booster pumping stations," said a KMC water supply department official.
According to a KMC official, the mayor recently asked the civic officials associated with the augmentation of the Dhapa water treatment plant to expedite the process. Currently, the civic body is engaged in the construction of a 20 million gallon water plant to cater to the growing demand for potable water in several neighbourhoods off EM Bypass. According to a civic official, though Hakim expressed satisfaction over the effort to wrap up the construction, he has asked the department officials to expedite the construction process so that the plant was made operational in another eight months.
Prodded by the chief minister's office to mitigate water scarcity in the Jadavpur-EM Bypass areas, KMC planned to augment the capacity of the Dhapa water treatment plant, which supplies potable water to areas off EM Bypass and adjacent to Jadavpur. Apart from wrapping up the construction of the new plant at Dhapa, the KMC water supply department will need to lay main pipes along large stretches of Bypass so that the residents who now depend on groundwater benefit from this project by the middle of next year. "We are trying our best to wrap up the construction of the plant as early as possible," said a civic official.