A reservoir-cum-booster pumping station that could ease the water crisis in Pashchim Putiary, on the southern fringe of the city, will be thrown open on Tuesday.
Supply from the station, which will store water in a reservoir and push it into the distribution network with added thrust so that the water reaches remote corners where it could not reach previously, will start from Wednesday morning.
Around 50,000 residents of Ward 115 will benefit once the booster pumping station becomes operational, said Ratna Sur, councillor of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s Ward 115.
A number of standalone apartment buildings or large housing complexes with multiple towers have come up in and around Pashchim Putiary in recent years. The demand for potable water has also increased with the rise in population, said Sur.
The construction began three years ago, but the pandemic delayed its completion. Masons were unavailable for a long time and even later, fewer than required hands worked because of Covid protocols, said Sur.
“Remote areas in the ward like Judge Bagan, Taramoyee Ghat Road suffered from the water crisis. The pressure of water was low, which also resulted in the unavailability of water in the farthest places. The booster pumping station will solve the problem,” she said.
Many people in the water-scarce pockets depended on water sucked up from underground by a big diameter deep tube well. The KMC has bored deep tube wells in pockets across the city where potable water from the water treatment plants does not reach. The water pumped up from underground is distributed to households, but it has impurities that are not present in potable water.
Sur said the water pumped up from underground also tastes different from potable water.
“The deep tubewell will be shut down once the booster pumping station is running,” she said.
Water from the Garden Reach water treatment plant will be stored in the reservoir before it is distributed from the booster pumping station.