Water meters at commercial establishments

Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will install water meters at commercial establishments to monitor the wastage of water, announced Mayor Firhad Hakim after holding a review meeting with ADB officials on Saturday.

"Our Water Supply department has installed water meters in a number of households inCossipore area and water management has become easier. We want to have a clear idea of the supply of water to commercial establishments, their consumption and wastage. So water meters will be installed. No extra charge will be levied," Hakim said.

It may be mentioned that the cost of water production at Palta and Garden Reach has gone up alarmingly. One kilolitre of water production cost has gone up three times with the price of coal and electricity shooting up. Through this system, the civic body wants to examine the exact consumption of water by commercial establishments as well as the quantity of water wasted by them. As per sources in KMC's Water Supply department, leakage in Corporation pipes results in wastage of 20 million gallons of water per day. The KMC is also thinking if rainwater harvesting can be made mandatory as it is in Tamil Nadu. Hakim will hold a meeting with senior officials of the ADB on June 11 and will press for quick transfer of land for sanitary landfill at Rasapunja near Joka with the ADM of South 24-Parganas.

Meanwhile, water supply in parts of South Kolkata will be affected on June 12 with the KMC temporarily diverting pipeline to facilitate construction work for the Majerhat Bridge. Areas of South Kolkata covering Borough 8, Borough 9, Borough 10 and parts of Borough 11 and 12 will not get filtered water from 10 am on June 12 with the water supply being stopped from Garden Reach. It will be restored on June 13 morning.