The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is committed to give better facilities to citizens, Mayor Sovan Chatterjee said on Sunday.
The Mayor was inaugurating an underground water reservoir to resolve drinking water problems in some pockets of East Kolkata. Built at an estimated cost of Rs 32 crore, the reservoir, with a capacity of two million gallons, has come up on Chawalpatti Road in Beliaghata. Over 1.17 lakh residents living in wards 33, 34 and 35 will get drinking water from the reservoir. Drinking water has been a major problem in these wards for many years. During summers, people were forced to buy water. The KMC authorities had prepared a scheme to solve the issue and accordingly, the underground reservoir with a booster pumping station has been set up. Water from Indira Gandhi water pumping station will be stored in the reservoir and then supplied to the households.
Between 1985 and 2000, when the Left Front controlled the civic board, no step was taken to address the problem. Over the years, the population in the aforementioned areas had increased and the problem of water scarcity deepened.
Local people expressed happiness at their long-standing demand having finally been met. Chatterjee said the civic authorities will completely resolve the drinking water problem in the city. There is a drinking water crisis in some pockets and these areas will soon be covered.
Chatterjee was the mayor in council (water supply) between 2000-2005 when the civic authorities took the major decision to set up underground reservoirs and booster pumping stations to solve drinking water problems in the city. Subrata Mukherjee was the Mayor at the time and the KMC took loans from Asian Development Bank (ADB) to augment water supply. The distribution system was also improved.
Firhad Hakim, state Urban Development minister said the urban local bodies are now lifting unfiltered water from various sources, filtering it and then supplying it to households.
This system has been working well throughout the state. The KMC has promised to supply drinking water all day in some wards and for 12 hours in others. The civic authorities have also solved the drinking water crisis in Behala.