Many residents of north and central Kolkata complained on Wednesday they were receiving half or even less the usual water supply for the last few days.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s water supply plants have been forced to cut daily production of potable water because of excess sludge in the Hooghly, resulting in the crisis.
A resident of Cossipore’s Prananath Chowdhury Lane in north Kolkata said on Wednesday they were receiving barely half the water.
The pressure and flow of water has also become half.
“Earlier, a 10-litre bucket used to take three minutes to fill. Now it is taking about six minutes,” said the resident.
The family has been drinking boiled water for the last few days.
A Sovabazar resident also complained that the pressure of water had reduced. “The underground reservoir in our home is taking more time to fill for the last few days.”
An official of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) said they had observed that the water crisis was more acute in north and central Kolkata, which receives water from the Palta water treatment plant. The plant is located upstream compared to Garden Reach waterworks and Dhapa water treatment plant, which supply potable water to south Kolkata and southern suburbs.
“The more the water is travelling downstream, the more time the solid particles are getting to precipitate,” said the official.
The water treatment plants of the KMC first noticed the problem of excess sludge on Sunday.