Kolkata: A plan for 24 hour water supply
in Kolkata as mooted by the Trinamool Congress chief and
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee is on the anvil.
"The scheme was mooted by Mamata Banerjee who had
detailed discussion with Union Finance minister Pranab
Mukherjee for central funds," Mayor Sobhan Chatterjee said
today.
Stating that improving water supply was the major
focus area of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, he said under the
plan the capacity of the water treatment plant at Dhapa in
East Kolkata would be doubled from 35 million gallon per day
to 70 million gallon.
A project would be taken up to augment the water supply
by 100 million gallon per day from Garden Reach.
The KMC also proposed to set up a new township at
Majerhat in South Kolkata and its adjoining area in
collaboration with the Kolkata Port Trust and the Railways
using land of the KPT.
"According to the plan the KPT will earn a huge
revenue for its unused land while the KMC will create
infrastructure with a housing and commercial complex on the
PPP model, Chatterjee said.
"The work will begin next year. The project appraisal
report is being prepared," he said.
Chatterjee also said there was need to revamp the
KMC`s drainage pump stations to give citizens relief from
waterlogging.
The KMC, he said, has received the approval of the
Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan for upgrading the
underground drainage system.
The project would require Rs 2400 crore and would be
implemented as the Kolkata Environmental Improvement Project
(KEIP)-2012.
The Mayor said residents of Behala and Garden Reach in
the southwest, Tiljala and Topsia in the east and Cossipore in
the north would benefit from the project.
The Mayor said that KMC has taken special initiative
to improve roads before the Durga Puja festival.
He said that drawing a lesson from the fire at the
Stephen Court Building in March this year, the KMC has set
aside 12 crore for buying special ladders for fire-fighting
under its disaster management programme.
PTI
