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Bengal

HIDCO to launch pilot project to check wastage of water

Kolkata: In a significant stride to check wastage of water, West Bengal Housing & Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) will start a pilot project using state-of-the-art technology and IoT sensors to detect leakages and monitor flow in pipes in New Town.

The technology that will be adopted after the elections will be able to detect even hairline cracks in the water supply pipeline and hence the engineers will be addressing the issues at a fast pace.

"It costs around Rs 1 crore a month to meet the operating expense for supplying water to households in New Town. So, it is important to prevent water loss, leakages and quality deterioration. Hence, we will be embracing this technology," a senior official of HIDCO said.

It may be mentioned that water in New Town comes from the Hooghly river located around 10 km away and then it is treated using the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) enabled plant in New Town, to supply pure potable water to all. The entire water supply network is underground and houses built on 6 acres and less is exempt from paying water charges. 24/7 treated water is provided to all citizens.

Recently, a national-level workshop on smart water was held at Biswa Bangla Convention Centre, which was attended by Mohan Kumar of the civil engineering department of IISc Bangalore.

NKDA chairman Debashis Sen mentioned that reject water from RO units (Reserve Osmosis water purifiers: for example the Water ATM in Eco Park Gate 2) and condensed water usually drained out from air conditioners in HIDCO Bhavan, will be stored in tanks for use in lawns or parks. The design process has been started by the engineering wing of HIDCO.

Sen also talked about attempts in New Town to use rejected water from Sewerage Water Treatment Plant to water road-median plants through tankers. He also suggested organising a hackathon to get such solutions on the ground.

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