Along with repairs, the water tank complexes of Salt Lake are getting fitted with submersible pumps that will now be able to pump the entire quantum of stored water to be sent to homes, thereby reducing shortage.
“Renovation work on all our tanks has been on for two years now, but work is complete in three of them — tanks 3, 5 and 10,” said Tulsi Sinha Roy, Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) mayoral council member in charge of water services. She was speaking at a ceremony outside Tank 10 in EE Block, on March 9, at the inauguration of the facilities.
“Salt Lake’s tanks are some 50 years old and were in dilapidated and dangerous condition when we began repairs. Supply will be smooth now and infrastructure upgraded,” she said. Deputy mayor Anita Mondal inaugurated the three tanks post-renovation, by remote. These three will now serve as models for other tanks.
Tanks 1 to 16 are under BMC, except Tank 15, which is located inside the stadium and maintained by the urban development department. The capacity of each tank is 1.2 million litres. The township receives 10 million gallons per day (mgd) from the Tallah-Palta network and 6.6mgd from the water treatment plant in New Town. “But the earlier system had pumps located outside the reservoirs, which could not push water up to the tanks once the water level became too low. Submersible pumps have now been installed inside the reservoirs, underground, so even the smallest amount of water remaining can be pumped up,” said an official of the water supply department.
“The renovated tanks — Tank 10 in EE Block, Tank 3 in BC Block and Tank 5 in AF Block — cater primarily to nearby blocks, but the pipe network is inter-connected such that if one tank is unable to supply water, another can fill in,” said the official.
The three renovated tank complexes have been beautified too, with manicured lawns, pathways and a fresh coat of paint.
The renovation has been undertaken by APRJ Constructions at a cost of Rs 23 crore in the first phase. The project has been funded by the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), contributed in parts by the central and the state governments and the civic body. “The foundation stone of a drop pumping station is also getting laid in FF Block today, to clear inundation during heavy rains,” said Sinha Roy. It will help blocks like FD, FE, FF and Labony, and work is on to complete it before the monsoon.