State to spend Rs 300 cr on water treatment project in Bongaon

Kolkata: Bongoan Municipality with the help of state Urban Development and Municipal Affairs department has taken up a water treatment project at an estimated cost of Rs 300 crore.

One of the main objectives of the project is to supply arsenic-free water to the people living in the municipal area. People at various places in Bongaon have to depend on the ground water as a result of which they are often exposed to arsenic. Underground water in some parts of Bongaon are filled with arsenic that causes serious harm to humans.

The Bongaon municipality in financial assistance with the Urban Development and Municipal Affairs department has started construction of five water reservoirs under its jurisdiction. A water treatment plant will be installed in the area that will purify the water extracted from the river near Kalyani and the purified water would be stored in the five water reservoirs and supplied to the people at

various wards. Once the project is completed, the people in the area will be able to have arsenic-free drinking water.

It was a long standing demand of the villagers to put in place an adequate infrastructure so that they can have arsenic-free water. They also welcomed the move taken by the present municipal board with the help of the state government. The water will be transported to Bongaon's Kalitala area where a water treatment plant is coming up.

Underground pipe line will be laid along Chakdah-Bongaon road covering a distance of 51 km. It was learnt that the water treatment plant is being constructed on a 10-bigha land. Once the river water is treated, it will be supplied to the reservoirs.

Sankar Adya, the chairman of the municipality said the project would be completed soon and they would be able to supply purified drinking water to every household. He also thanked Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her efforts without which the project would remain a distant dream. "We urged the Chief Minister for a water treatment plant in the area and she readily accepted our proposal. The project is being constructed on a war footing. A large number of people will be benefitted by the project initiated by the state government," Adya said.

Tarak Dey, a resident of Bongaon said: "The people in the area had demanded purified drinking water for a long time. We are thankful to the present government for making the project happen."