Residents collect water from a tap at Roypara in Dhakuria and (below) a rickshawpuller carries water cans to be filled at a tap in KP Roy Lane. Pictures by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

Queues in front of roadside taps are common in south Calcutta as water treated at plants in Palta and Garden Reach does not reach many localities. The municipal authorities will only say that a few projects are in the pipeline.

Water treated at the Palta and Garden Reach plants does not reach most houses in Kasba, Dhakuria, Behala and Tollygunge. Residents have to make do with the salty deep tubewell water.

“We have to buy drinking water from the bhari (water carrier), who collects it from a roadside tap at Roypara, five minutes from here. It is not possible for us to fetch all the water we need for drinking and cooking from the tap every day. Moreover, there is usually a long queue at the tap,” said Kabita Chatterjee, a homemaker at KP Roy Lane in Dhakuria.

“We are forced to use deep tubewell water for washing vegetables and other chores,” she added.

Scarcity of potable water has forced the residents to act. “Some people have started a signature collection drive to press for supply of treated water to every household,” said Tinkari Dutta, who owns a shop at Dhakuria Najirbagan.

The situation is worse in parts of Behala. “When we moved here in 1987, we used to get treated water in our house. But now we have to collect drinking water from a tap in the locality. Earlier, water would be available every day from 6.30am. Now, it is available only between 9.30am and 10.15am. It is not possible for all the residents to collect sufficient amount of water in such a short period,” said Raikamal Dasgupta, a resident of Behala Notunpara in ward 126.

The councillors admitted that treated water was scarce. “None of the 14 wards in my borough get treated water,” said Sovan Chatterjee, the Trinamul Congress chairman of borough 14.

Aroop Biswas, the chairman of borough 10 from the same party, voiced a similar complaint. “There is no vigilance at the Garden Reach plant. The machines often stop working. Better vigilance can improve the situation to some extent,” he added.

The problem is not restricted to wards under Trinamul control. “Some areas like Najirbagan and Sarat Ghosh Colony in my constituency face water scarcity,” said Sunil Chakraborty, the CPM councillor of ward 105.

“The problem is worse in areas like Daspara in ward 92,” he added.

While residents have to queue up for hours to collect water, about 60 million gallons of treated water goes to waste daily because of a dearth of pipelines. “The Palta plant can produce 270 million gallons of water per day, but we are unable to supply 60 million gallons because there are no pipelines. Laying of 64-inch diameter pipes will soon start so that more water can be supplied,” said Mrinal Mondal, the mayoral council member (water supply).

“Also, we get 71 million gallons of water from the Garden Reach plant though we are supposed to get 91 million gallons. The plant at Garden Reach is run by the Calcutta Municipal Sanitation and Waste Authority, an agency of the state government,” he added.

Faiyaz Ahmed Khan, the mayoral council (information), said: “The treatment plant at Watgunge that produces 5 million gallons of water caters to the needs of the residents of three wards.” If 5 million gallons of water meets the demand of residents of three wards, it is easy to gauge that many wards would have benefited if the CMC could use the 80 million gallons (60 million gallons + 20 million gallons) of water that it cannot deliver.

An official at the Garden Reach plant, however, claimed that 91 million gallons of water are released every day to the CMC. “We will install a flow meter to monitor the quantity of water supplied.”

“We have 290 million gallons of water available with us. We require another 320 million gallons of water every day if each household in the CMC area is to get treated water. We will receive another 15 million gallons from the Garden Reach plant. The work is slated to get over by March 2010,” said Mondal.

Besides, another plant is under construction at Dhapa that will produce 30 million gallons of water. “But it is difficult to set a deadline for any of these projects,” he added.