Kolkata to get 20 MGD more filtered water as mayor inaugurates

Filtered water supply to Kolkata will go up by 20 million gallons per day (MGD) as mayor Firhad Hakim inaugurated a new treatment plant at Palta in North 24 Parganas district on Thursday.

Built at a cost of Rs 46.9 crore, the new water treatment plant will raise Palta Water Works' capacity to 262 MGD.

The new treatment plant will benefit people of the north and central Kolkata, according to Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) officials.

Inaugurating the facility, Hakim asserted the need to save the Hooghly river, which is the main source of water for the metropolis.

"At present, the cost of filtering water is Rs 8 per gallon. The Centre and other agencies are creating pressure to impose water tax in Kolkata but the state government has decided not to levy any charge," he said.

Established in 1868, Palta Water Works was the first treatment plant for supplying potable water to Kolkata. Water was then lifted from the Hooghly river by a steam engine pump.

Later, it was rechristened as the Palta Indira Gandhi Water Treatment Plant. The KMC at present filters nearly 500 MGD water at different treatment plants in the city.