State Govt moots Rs 250 crore water supply project for Berhampur

To tide over the perennial drinking water crisis in Berhampur, the State government has decided to come up with remedial measures. At a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday, the issues related to drinking water crisis in Berhampur and its remedial measures were discussed. The meeting was attended by MLAs from Berhampur, State Chief Secretary Bijay Kumar Patnaik, State Water Resources Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra, Development Commissioner Rabi Narayan Senapati, and Urban Development Secretary Sourabh Garg. During the meeting, the Chief Minister reviewed the drinking water supply situation in Berhampur city. According to a release from the office of the Chief Minister, a new drinking water treatment plant which is envisioned to alleviate drinking water crisis in the city will be functional by April. The new drinking water treatment plant is now under construction at Dakhinpur on the outskirts of the city. As per schedule, the drinking water treatment plant is to be operational by April 15. After getting functional, the new drinking water treatment plant will provide extra water of around 20 million litres per day (MLD). The city gets 37 MLD of water every day from two sources. During harsh summer months, the drinking water supply goes down. The government is of the view that with additional water supply from the new treatment plant, there will be no scarcity of drinking water in the city this summer. The issue of 24-hour piped water supply to all areas of the city was also discussed at the meeting. At present most areas of the city get drinking water supply for one to two hours during early morning.

A sum of Rs. 59 crore will be spent on round-the-clock piped water supply to different parts of the city. The amount will be spent on enhancing the drinking water supply infrastructure of the city. Work on the project will be started soon. This will involve enhancing capacity of storage reservoirs, enhancement of water supply network through replacement and repair of existing water pipeline in the city. Detailed project report for this renovation and replacement of old pipeline is being prepared. The State government is also thinking of a long-term project keeping in view the increased need of water for the population of the city during next three decades. For it, a 250-crore drinking water project is being planned. The project involves lifting of 125 MLD of water from Janibili reservoir.          

Source: The Hindu