KMC to deploy armed guards at water treatment plants & booster pumping stns

Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will soon deploy armed security guards at all its water treatment plants and booster pumping stations across the city for strengthening security.

The move comes in the wake of officials of Water Supply department of the civic body apprehending sabotage in the water treatment and supply infrastructure. The KMC will also have guards with batons at all overhead reservoirs.

"Water, which is a life-giver, can be a killer if there is contamination of any sort. In recent times, there have been reports of outsiders loitering in and around some water treatment plants and booster pumping stations. There are security guards armed with batons and they have complained that in some cases the 'outsiders' have tried to get closer to such water infrastructure. Apart from the contamination angle, we are not ruling out theft of machineries either. This step is a precautionary measure to prevent any untoward entry," a senior official of the Water Supply Department of KMC said.

The proposal of armed guards that was placed by the director of Water Supply Mainak Mukherjee, has already got the nod of the Member, Mayor-in-Council recently.

It is to be noted that armed security guards already exist at the Talla, Garden Reach and Palta water treatment plants. Palta and Garden Reach have a police outpost for security as well.

"We will have armed security guards at all five of our water treatment plants and 35 booster pumping stations. There will be three shifts and in each shift there will be an armed guard and another guard with baton," the official added.

KMC's Water Supply department is presently setting up capsule booster pumping stations at three locations in the city. Deshapriya Park and Townshend Road in Bhowanipore will have one each with 2 lakh million gallon capacity, while another at Achena Park on S C Mallick Road near Jadavpur will have a capacity of 3 lakh million gallons.

It may be mentioned that the DPR for setting up a booster pumping station with 10 lakh million gallon capacity near Dhalai Bridge in Garia has already been prepared and submitted for necessary approval.