Calcutta: The scale of water wastage and the rate at which the groundwater table is depleting are red flags for a future shortage that the city cannot afford to ignore, according to a top government official.
Gupta said large-scale use of underground water for several decades had depleted the table while construction of concrete pavements had reduced the chance of rainwater percolating down to replenish it.
Water meters installed in about 1,000 households in wards 2 to 5 in north Calcutta as part of a pilot project revealed average water consumption to be 600 litres a person each day.
Daily consumption in some households was found to be 800 litres a person.
Per capita daily consumption in Chennai is the lowest at 84 litres.
At the chamber event, Gupta spoke about failure to segregate waste at source as another vexing problem.
By 2035, Calcutta will generate 9,000 metric tonnes of waste daily," he said.
Sources in the CMC said that only seven out of 144 wards currently segregate waste at source as biodegradable and non-biodegradable.
These are wards 33, 47, 64, 103, 110, 115 and 130.
"Residents of all seven wards have been given separate bins to segregate waste," an official said.