Tala Tank, considered the world’s largest overhead steel tank, was inaugurated on this day. The foundation had been laid in 1909. The tank sustains the city. It is fed by Palta Water Works.
In the first decade of the 1900s, an urgent need was felt to supply the city with more water and a large tank was planned.
The land to build this tank was donated by philanthropist Babu Khelat Chandra Ghosh. The adjoining lane is named after him.
The tank was designed by the chief engineer of Kolkata corporation W.B. MacCabe. British and Indian companies contributed to its construction, which began on November 18, 1909, in the presence of Lt Governor of Bengal Sir Edward Baker. It was inaugurated on May 16, 1911.
Supported by steel columns and girders, and made with the sturdiest materials, the tank is considered an engineering marvel. It has withstood storms, earthquakes and bomb scares for more than a century.
