Jetty pumping station on Hooghly to solve water woes in Kidderpore

KOLKATA: A new water intake pumping station constructed on a jetty on the Hooghly at Watgunge will take care of water scarcity in large areas of Kidderpore and Watgunge. The pumping station will draw water from the Hooghly and supply it to Watgunge water treatment plant. The plant will then carry out filtration process and finally potable water will be sent to several parts of Watgunge and Kidderpore.
According to an estimate, the new pumping station with a capacity to draw 15million gallons water in a day will be able to resolve water crisis in at least five wards and cater to at least 1.5 lakh people in Kidderpore and Watgunge.“We will inaugurate the intake jetty on Sunday. All we can say is that residents of Watgunge and Kidderpore will immensely benefit from the project,” a KMC water supply department official said. He added that once operational, the new intake pumping station will be instrumental in supplying potable water to five wards (75 to 80) four times a day. Now, the civic body supplies drinking water twice a day.
Construction of the jetty was planned following Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s decision to do away with ground water in the Watgunge-Kidderpore belt and augment supply of piped water in the area.
According to a KMC official, the new facility has some some unique features. “This is the first jetty-mounted intake pumping station designed for the city with a capacity to draw 15 million gallons of water per day. It will go a long way in mitigating water crisis not only in Kidderpore and Watgunge but large parts of Metiabruz also,” he said.
Explaining the advantages of such a pumping station, the official said since the intake pumping station was constructed on the river, the supply of raw water will never dry up. On the contrary, the station with a greater withdrawal capacity will be able to supply raw water according to demands of Watgunge water treatment plant and some other plants coming up in Kidderpore-Metiabruz areas,” said the official.
Sources in the KMC said the raw water to be drawn from the Hooghly will also be supplied to Manasatala water treatment plant once it’s ready and at least three capsule water booster pumping stations that will come up in the neighbourhood.