Darjeeling, May 13: The Bengal government is working on a war footing to inaugurate a long-delayed drinking water project in Darjeeling by November next year.

The Darjeeling Water Supply Scheme is expected to supply enough potable water to all parts of the town, solving a 30-year-old problem.

The Rs 55.86-crore scheme, first conceived in 1995-96, was sent to the backburner for more than a decade before it was revived in 2006.

According to a project report submitted by the chief engineer of the public health engineering department, D.C. Bhattacharya, to Darjeeling MLA Pranay Rai, the project is progressing as expected despite the current political turmoil in the hills, where the demand for a new state has been revived. “The project report as of now is satisfactory, but we will have to keep an eye on the progress,” said Rai.

Under the scheme, water will be pumped from the Balasun, about 30km from Darjeeling; over a distance of 12km in two phases. A fourth lake is expected to be set up at Tiger Hill for distribution of water. Currently, Darjeeling requires about 15-18 lakh gallons of water every day but the municipality can provide only about 7-8 lakh gallons.

Union minister Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate an open reservoir near Algarah in Kalimpong under the Neorakhola scheme on May 18.