Hakim bats for water intake jetty at Nazirgunge
Kolkata: State Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim intervened on Tuesday to facilitate the construction of a water intake jetty at Nazirgunge in Howrah.
The purpose of the jetty is to supply river water through pipeline to the Puddapukur water treatment plant and then supply it to the residents after treatment. Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) had served stop work notice a few months ago, citing that the jetty will impede the safe turning of ships and the project's close proximity to the shipping channel. "A meeting was held with the authorities of KoPT, where we sought permission to allow us to continue with the construction of the jetty. But its length will be reduced from 50 m to 35 m so that the ships do not face any difficulty during turning. KoPT has in-principle agreed to our proposal and the matter will soon be placed at their board meeting," Hakim said.
KMDA CEO Antara Acharya and engineers were present in the meeting. The project, undertaken By Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC), is being executed by KMDA.
Hakim said 50 percent of the work is already over and the piling work, which is the most challenging part, has already been done. "Shifting the project to another place will delay it further for at least two to three years. It is a project which will ensure uninterrupted water supply to the residents in and around Botanical Garden in Shibpur. So, we want the project to be completed fast," a senior KMDA official said.
A senior official of KoPT said that alternative technical proposals were discussed in the meeting and more proposals will be submitted by KMDA for their examination.
At present, an intake jetty of HMC located in the Botanical Garden supplies water to the Puddapukur water treatment plant, from where the treated water is supplied to the residents. The need for another similar jetty was felt with the increase in population, but the Botanical Garden authorities refused to grant permission for it. Following this, the alternative site at Nazirgunge was chosen and work for the water intake jetty started in the middle of 2018.
