‘Jal Swapna’ proj: Alipurduar civic body issues Rs 4.5 cr work order

Alipurduar: The Alipurduar Municipality has taken a significant step forward in its mission to ensure clean drinking water for all residents by issuing a work order valued at Rs 4.5 crore under the ‘Jal Swapna’ project. The municipality aims to complete the water connections to every home within this year, with the goal of delivering water to every household in Alipurduar by early next year.

Work on this project has been ongoing since 2018, covering all 20 wards of the municipality. Chairman Prasenjit Kar commented on the progress, stating: “We have recently appointed a new engineer for the drinking water works after requesting support from the state. With the new engineer now on board and the recent work order in place, we are optimistic that the water pipeline will reach every household in all 20 wards by early next year. Our primary challenge is to complete this project as swiftly as possible and we are making preparations accordingly.”

Municipality sources reveal that the house-to-house drinking water project targets 21,000 families across the 20 wards of Alipurduar.

In the first phase of the work order, Rs 2.38 crore have been allocated to install water supply connections for 3,590 houses. The project has divided the Alipurduar District Headquarters into five zones, with significant progress already made. Specifically, a work order worth

Rs 2.12 crore has been issued for Zone 1, where a 100 mm water pipe is being laid.

The 150 mm pipeline installation has been completed in two of the five zones and the tender process for the remaining three zones is expected to conclude soon. In the final phase, the water line will be extended from the 100 mm pipeline to every house.

The total estimated cost of the ‘Jal Swapna’ project is approximately Rs 110 crore. In the next phase, work orders will be issued to cover an additional 17,000 households.