With certain pockets in Behala reeling under the shortage of drinking water supply, Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), Firhad Hakim, assured that with the completion of the work of another capsule booster pumping station and the Mahestala Water Treatment Plant by this year, the crisis will be over by next summer.
It was learnt that certain pockets in Behala, such as Sabeda Bagan, Manmohan Park, Jayshree Park, Maity Para and Prafulla Sen Colony, among others, are facing a crisis due to uneven distribution of water.
Councillor Rupak Ganguly brought to the attention of the Mayor that despite recurring visits by borough engineers of the Water Supply department to assess the situation, no solution could be found. The councillor informed that over the years several booster pumping stations have come up in Behala, such as in Wards 127, 128 and 129.
He suggested that KMC must ensure proper distribution of water from the Chowrasta booster pumping station because at the time it was set up, several wards were depending on it but now the scenario has changed with many new pumping stations having come up.
Firhad Hakim is learnt to have acknowledged the problem and admitted that the water pressure at Ward 121 is less.
He informed that a capsule booster pumping station is being built at Jayshree Park to address the problem. “This will help increase the water pressure in the ward. The distribution of water from a water treatment plant and subsequently from a booster pumping station to a particular area depends on the height and distance of that area,” he remarked.
Further, he highlighted that the work of the water treatment plant in Maheshtala will be completed and inaugurated by this year. “Water will then be supplied from there and the excess water that is now being supplied to Maheshtala will be then diverted to Behala. The water supply crisis in Behala will be over by next summer,” he assured.
Replying to the query as to whether such issues could be solved at the borough level instead of waiting for the civic body headquarters to intervene, Hakim said that if a local fault surfaces in any water lines, it can be dealt with by the borough engineers for
faster solution.