Uttarpara to get new water treatment plant

Kolkata: A water treatment plant with capacity of 55 million gallon is coming at Uttarpara in Hooghly district.

A review meeting to take stock of the work was held by state Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim at the conference hall of Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) on Tuesday.

"The Palta water treatment plant came up before the Independence. Now Uttarpara is getting a water treatment plant which happens to be the largest in the state since independence. It will be responsible for supplying water in seven municipalities in Hooghly and about 10 adjoining panchayat areas. The supply line will be similar to that followed in Kolkata Municipal Corporation," Hakim said after the meeting.

The water treatment plant will supply potable drinking water to the people living in municipal areas of Uttarpara, Dankuni, Rishra, Sreerampore, Baidyabati, Konnagar and Champdani.

According to the chairman of Uttarpara Municipality, Dilip Yadav, work to develop the infrastructure for the water treatment plant such as laying of pipeline for water supply and construction of water tanks have started since five months. The complete work will take around two years. The estimated cost for the project is Rs 1,760 crore.

"Work was delayed because of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) that was in effect because of the elections. There were some problems regarding the contractor firm selected for executing the work. The minister not only took stock of the progress of work but also gave necessary instructions on how to speed up work," an official of Uttarpara Municipality, who attended the meeting said.