Kolkata: After CM Mamata Banerjee stressed the need to reduce water wastage, Kolkata Municipal Corporation(KMC) has decided to continue with the drive to install meters, particularly in the added areas, to identify the usage pattern and work out a wastage model. This apart, the civic body has also asked the KMC water supply department officials in the boroughs to identify areas where misuse is high and then counsel the people there, if need be, with the help of councillors, to reduce wastage.
The civic body’s water wing will also need to replace broken roadside taps that contribute to colossal waste of filtered water.
KMC produces 450 million gallons of filtered water every day from its three major water treatment plants. According to reports of a survey conducted by the KMC water supply department engineers and a World Bank study, the volume of filtered water would have been more than sufficient to cater to the needs of the city’s population had the civic body been successful in preventing wastage of treated water. The survey puts daily loss of treated water to as much as 30%, which could have served 2 million people and solved water scarcity in large parts of south and east Kolkata.
According to a KMC water supply department official, to cater to the residents of water-starved pockets, KMC will need to rationalise water usage. In fact, mayor Firhad Hakim regularly gets calls during the ‘Talk to Mayor’ session from residents of added areas like Bahala, Garden Reach-Metiabruz, Tollygunge-Jadavpur and neighbourhoods off EM Bypass who often complain about water shortage. Reports of water shortage also pour in from Dum Dum, Jorabagan, Burrabazar, Jorasanko and other north Kolkata areas though a survey by the KMC in areas like Paikpara and Belgachhia had pointed out indiscriminate water wastage because of these neighbourhoods’ proximity to the Tallah tank.
“We produce adequate filtered water. The only thing we need to do is install meters, based on which we will be able to work out a formula to supply more water to the dry pockets, said a civic official. Theft of water meters from large part of Patuli, Kasba, Garfa and other areas had put the metering scheme on hold.
Source: https://shorturl.at/NQdUb
