Dhapa treatment plant still a dream, residents buy water to survive

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PoushaliMitra

Posted online: Tuesday , May 13, 2008 at 02:38:36
Updated: Tuesday , May 13, 2008 at 02:38:36

Kolkata, May 12 The Dhapa water treatment plant may be the answer to the woes of the residents living along the Eastern Bypass — the congested areas of Tiljala, Topsia and Picnic Garden. The plant would benefit around 10 lakh people living in at least 10 municipal wards located along the Bypass. But due to legal complexities, the setting up of the plant is running into hurdles.

The People’s United For Better Living in Kolkata (PUBLIC) — an NGO working for the preservation of the wetland in the city — had filed a writ petition to stop the construction of the plant at Dhapa.

“The main function of the plant is to treat water and provide continuous fresh sweet water to these areas,” said Bibhas Maity, the Chief Engineer of the Water Supply department in Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC).

“With our present strength of boosting pumping stations, we are not in a position to supply adequate water to this area,” he added.

A senior engineer of KMC’s Planning and Development department, which is looking after the project, said: “If the legal hurdles do not get sorted out before October, there are chances that the fund will have to be returned.”

Incidentally, the sweet water table in this part of the city is in a better condition. While the store of the sweet water table in the rest of the city is below 7 mts, in this region, it is only 4 mts.

In spite of this, the residents of this area suffer the most because of scarcity of drinking water. With no running taps to provide drinking water, the residents are used to depend on deep tube wells.

But recently, KMC’s water supply department has begun uprooting these 300 feet deep tube wells. In the last two months, the civic body has uprooted 20 deep tube wells from this part of the city.

If one visits these areas, he will not miss the heap of blue jars loaded on cycle rickshaws. Locals and cycle rickshaw pullers are minting money by selling sweet drinking water to the residents of this area.

Such is the case of G J Khal Road. For a 5-litre jar of water, a family has to pay Rs 5. The situation is equally grim in Tiljala and Picnic garden areas. “On an average, we supply 25 to 30 litres of drinking water to a domestic household. If the families are located on the top floors of the building, we charge Rs 2 extra per floor,” said Mobarak Hossain, a cycle van owner who provides water to the residents in G J Khal Road.

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