Water supply to large parts of east Kolkata and southern fringes of the city will remain suspended for a day from 10am on Saturday because of repair and maintenance of pipelines at the Dhapa water treatment plant and at least eight other booster pumping stations linked to it.
Supply will resume on Sunday morning, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) officials said on Tuesday.
The repair and maintenance work will affect the supply of water across parts of Anandapur, Mukundapur, Patuli, Garia, Baishnabghata, New Garia, Kasba, Garfa, Survey Park, Panchasayar, Santoshpur, Panchannagram, Ajoynagar, Picnic Garden and Topsia.
"Besides, parts of areas under boroughs 7, 10, 11, 12 and areas under wards 57, 58, 66, 67, 91, 92, 99-110 will not get filtered water after 10am. Usual supply will resume from the morning of December 3," said a notice, issued by the municipal commissioner on Tuesday.
The Dhapa plant, which can treat 30 million gallons of water in a day, supplies to areas on both sides of EM Bypass, between Science City and Garia, through a network of booster pumping stations in Mukundapur, Anandapur, Patuli and Topsia and capsule booster pumping stations.
Senior engineers said lakhs of people receive filtered water through a network of booster and capsule booster pumping stations that has the Dhapa pumping station at its centre. It is, therefore, crucial to undertake periodic maintenance work at the Dhapa plant to ensure that the entire network runs smoothly, they said.
"We have prepared a list of items that need to be repaired at the Dhapa plant," said a senior official of the KMC's water supply department. "High-diameter valves, high-voltage motors, high tension pumps and electro-mechanical drives are among the components that will be repaired."
The civic body sends 488 million gallons of water into the city’s distribution system every day, but nearly half of it goes to waste or is unaccounted for, officials said.
Early last year, the civic body received the state government's approval to augment the capacity of the Dhapa plant. The plant now can produce 30 million gallons a day. Post-augmentation, it will produce 20 million gallons more, an increase of 66 per cent, officials said.
"The number of households is increasing rapidly with the expansion of the city to the east, along the Bypass and towards Garia and beyond. The Dhapa pumping station will play a crucial role in ensuring water supply over the years," the official said.
