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. After not receiving any communication from the Centre on the matter, KMC has approached the state Urban Development department for money.

Repair works will start immediately once the funds are made available, civic officials said. It was in Palta water works that raw water was lifted for the first time from river Hooghly and then was offloaded into the filtration tanks. The raw water was filtered with the help of alum and then taken to Tallah with the help of a 60 inch underground pipe for storage.

The purified water was then supplied to the city with the help of booster pumping stations. Interestingly, after coming to power in 2011, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked all the Municipalities and the officials of the Public Health Engineering department to come up with solutions so that water scarcity in different Municipalities could be resolved. 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 uniqueness of this water treatment plant is that while throughout the globe, water treatment plants and lifting centres are situated side by side, the treatment plant in New Town is situated several kilometres away. The system is working perfectly and 15 million gallons of filtered water is being supplied daily.

The Palta water works was the first station to purify and supply drinking water in Asia. During the Sepoy Mutiny in 1857, there was acute scarcity of drinking water in vast areas surrounding Esplanade and Fort William. 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 construction began in 1861 and was completed three years later in 1864. The Palta water works became fully operational from 1868. 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. Palta today supplies around 100 mgd water to the city every day.