Twelve Years After Gangajal Project, Agra Still Waits for Clean Drinking Water.
The state water supply is so polluted that not a single household in the city can use it for drinking.
“The total water demand of the city is approximately 500 million litres per day (MLD) and the current water supply is 285 MLD supplied from Sikandra water works (120 MLD) and Jeevani Mandi water works (165 MLD).
Water supplied to Agra is not adequate but after the completion of Gangajal project the supply-demand gap will end,” Chandan Singh, general manager, Agra Jal Sansthan told The Wire.
The cost of this was estimated at Rs 355.68 crore, and the government signed an agreement with Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) on December 2, 2005 for this.
In last 12 years, the cost of the project has shot up to Rs 2887.92 crore, and there is still no visible work on the ground.
The pipeline length has changed from 70 km to 13o km.
Current water quality in Agra The UP government has not bothered to take note of the infamous pollution levels of the Yamuna.
One of the sewage treatment plants at Agra’s prominent water works, Jeevani Mandi, is in a deplorable state, while others are outdated.
Saxena however said, “Water in Chambal is not enough to meet Agra’s demand even if it is close.