More than five lakh residents of Katras, compelled to face acute water crisis with the depleting water of Topchanchi Lake, can hope for a better summer in 2020.

Civic body Mineral Area Development Authority (Mada) has initiated steps to supply mine pit water of the BCCL’s Dharmabandh colliery in Katras to compensate for the water shortage in Topchanchi Lake.

Mada is currently repairing the filter bed, pipeline and arranging other equipment needed at its water treatment plant at Tetulia in Katras, so as to be able to filter Dharmabandh pit water smoothly.

Giving details, Mada technical member-cum-executive engineer Indresh Shukla said they had already completed some repair work at the Tetulia filter plant but some new equipment needed to be installed.

“All repair work is likely to completed within two-three months ahead of summer 2020. Residents of Katras won’t face any difficulty this coming summer,” claimed Shukla.

On Topchanchi Lake, Shukla said: “We desilted the lake earlier this year, so its catchment area increased.” He added that right now water was being supplied every alternate day through Topchanchi Lake to various parts of Katras as part of a rationing measure in order to avoid drastic shortage.

Mada supplies more than 176 lakh litres of water from river Damodar through its Jamadoba water treatment complex to Jharia and Katras, of which around 105 lakh litres is supplied to Jharia and nearby areas through a 12 million-gallons-per-day-capacity water treatment plant.

Water in parts of Katras, Putki, Kendua, Kustore and Moonidih is supplied through a 9 million-gallons-per-day-capacity water treatment plant.

Around 5 lakh other residents of remaining parts of Katras at Sijua Malkera, Pachgarhi Bazar and Katras Bazar, however, are dependent on supply of around 24 lakh litres of water through Topchanchi Lake. This population is at risk of dry taps every summer.

Mada did supply pit water of the BCCL’s abandoned Dharmabandh mine between 1994 and 2004 to Katras and nearby areas of Dhanbad through its Tetulia water treatment plant. Later, water supply was discontinued due to malfunctioning of equipment at the filter bed.