Arsenic-free water ATMs in North 24 Pgns gets overwhelming response

A team of PHE engineers, led by chief engineer Animesh Bhattacharya, on Wednesday visited a 

school in Basirhat sub-division on Thursday to supervise the project.

The students welcomed the team and it was found that mid-day meal was being prepared with the Arsenic free water. The department has so far installed 206 Arsenic free water ATMs in the district.

There is Arsenic contamination in some areas in Murshidabad, Malda, Nadia, South and North 24 Parganas. In South 24 Parganas because of the supply of piped water, the Arsenic menace has been addressed.

In North 24 Parganas, schemes have been taken to supply piped water along with installation of Arsenic free water ATMs. It may be mentioned that the PHE is supplying filtered water to vast areas in New Town.

Though New Town is situated close to the Arsenic belt, the erstwhile Left Front government did not take any steps to supply piped water in the new township. To cope with the situation it installed 54 deep tubewells which ran the risk of Arsenic contamination.

After coming to power in 2011, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged the engineers of the department to find out ways and means to supply filtered water to New Town.

Accordingly, a plan was chalked to lift unfiltered water from river Hooghly at Debendrabalaghat in North Kolkata.

It is carried by an underground pipeline to New Town covering a distance of over 19 km. It is filtered 

in New Town and supplied to the area.

It has been decided that filtered water will be supplied to the neighbouring areas soon. It may be mentioned that PHE has chalked out a plan to supply filtered water in different districts at an 

estimated cost of Rs 8,000 crore. The projects will be completed by 2018.