KMC approaches state Urban Development dept for funds to repair embankment at Palta.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has requested the state Urban Development department to provide funds to maintain the embankment at Palta where the country’s oldest water treatment plant is situated after the Centre refused to give financial assistance.
Earlier, the civic authorities had approached the Centre to provide funds under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission ( JnNURM) to repair the embankment as soil erosion has affected the boundary wall of the 153-year-old water treatment plant.
Repair works will start immediately once the funds are made available, civic officials said.
In every urban local body, this old method is being followed, that is, raw water being lifted and then purified and supplied to individual households with the help of pipes.
In the water treatment plant situated in New Town, raw water from river Hooghly being lifted and then taken to the treatment centre situated 17.5 km away with the help of underground pipes.
The Palta water works was the first station to purify and supply drinking water in Asia.
After the administrative power came under the British Government from the East Indian Company in 1858, plans were made in 1859 to set up the water works but the construction could not be started due to shortage of funds.
The British had selected Palta and constructed the water works because of its geographical position.
The course of the river takes the shape of a semi circle near Palta and so water is purified through a natural process during high tide.

Severe water crisis in south Kolkata area.
Ratna Roy Majumdar, a CPM councilor alleged that large areas of Bakultala and Parnasree had been reeling under a water crisis.
Banerjee on Monday alleged that repeated requests made to the KMC engineers to solve the crisis have so far gone in vain.As the mercury is steadily rising, lakhs of people in some south Kolkata areas have been affected by a severe water crisis .
Reacting to opposition Left Front’s allegations, mayor Sovan Chatterjee said that effective steps were being taken to ensure that no water crisis existed anywhere in the city.
Left Front councilors of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation on Monday boycotted the civic body’s monthly meeting in protest against the civic administration’s apathy to mitigate water crisis at a time when summer heat is becoming intolerable.Belquis Begum, a CPM councilor of ward 75 complained of prolonged water crisis in Kidderpore.
Perplexed by the sudden development Roychowdhury called a local KMC engineer and requested him to send a water tanker to his place.Faizal Ahmed, owner of a hotel at Wattgung was equally harassed when he found that supply of water to his hotel was not adequate to run it through the day.Sikha Banerjee’s condition, a teacher and a resident of Patuli along EM Bypass was no better.Banerjee has been buying water from the civic body’s water supply department for past three days.
Banerjee on Monday alleged that repeated requests made to the KMC engineers to solve the crisis have so far gone in vain.As the mercury is steadily rising, lakhs of people in some south Kolkata areas have been affected by a severe water crisis .
Some of the worst affected areas include Kidderpore, Wattgung, Garden Reach, Behala, Joka Tollygunge, Jadavpur and EM Bypass.
Left Front councilors of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation on Monday boycotted the civic body’s monthly meeting in protest against the civic administration’s apathy to mitigate water crisis at a time when summer heat is becoming intolerable.Belquis Begum, a CPM councilor of ward 75 complained of prolonged water crisis in Kidderpore.
"Residents of almost every area in Kidderpore and Wattgung faces an acute water scarcity.

KMC to install water meters in households of Wards 1-6.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will install water meters in every household in Wards 1 to 6 respectively in North Kolkata to assess wastage of drinking water.
The funding agencies like Asian Development Bank had suggested imposition of water tax in the city.
Banerjee said not only would water tax not be imposed but also stressed that supply of filtered water would be augmented.
Accordingly, the KMC took steps to augment water supply.
So, wastage of water will be stopped.
A senior civic official said that when roadside taps were there in the city, nearly 10 million gallon of filtered water was wasted daily.
After the abolition of roadside taps, the wastage has been reduced to a great extent.
Once the KMC has this figured, it will be easier to stop the wastage.
He said that in the next few years, there would be no water scarcity in the city including some pockets where there is a shortage for various reasons.