Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): About 35% per cent of Bhopal’s total water supply is not under government control. However, government is blamed whenever there is water shortage in the city.
The state capital has four sources of water supply. They are Narmada river, Kolar river dam, Kerwa river dam, Upper Lake. About 450 MLD of water is supplied daily in Bhopal, according to Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials.
About 35% colonies, which receive water from Narmada are Hoshangabad Road, newly developed residential colonies like Neelbad, Ratibad, the colonies in vicinity of RTO office, Lalghati, Minal Residency. They do not get water from Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC). In these areas, builders, colonisers supply water through tube wells.
In Kolar Satellite Township, newly developed residential colonies do not have BMC water supply connection. It receives water from Kerwa dam. Water from Kolar is supplied to new Bhopal while water from Upper Lake is supplied to Old Bhopal, Shyamla Hills, Civil Lines, Bairagarh, BHEL, New Market, Bhauri.
Sachin Sahu, Kolar water supply incharge, said, “In colonies on periphery, we are trying to supply water under AMRUT because they do not have BMC connection. We will build overhead tanks for them.”
Ankit Raghuvanshi, assistant engineer, water supply, Kolar satellite township, said, “Water supplied from Kerwa covers 80% township. We are not supplying in new colonies, which have tube wells. In main Kolar, the covered campus, housing societies have taken BMC water connection.”
Surface water to be used for drinking purpose
After authorities restrained it from exploiting groundwater to meet drinking water needs (which is likely to shoot up during summer season), the directorate of urban administration and development (DUAD) has decided to reduce dependency on groundwater and use surface water instead for drinking purpose in urban bodies.
It is going to use water from open sources such as rivers, dams and lakes. Moreover, Gwalior and Morena will get water from Chambal River for the first time. Pipelines will be laid in this regard.
Meanwhile, use of surface water is good for health in comparison to groundwater which is hard and also poses health risks. The sources at DUAD said that groundwater authority has also asked the department to accelerate the recharging work of groundwater as its level has receded in many regions. Work of groundwater recharging has been done in a good manner in Indore where groundwater level has increased considerably.
65% areas
The BMC plans to cover colonies, which have developed on periphery of state capital under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).BMC city engineer (water supply) Udit Garg said, “BMC supplies water to 65% of areas in Bhopal. We are trying that colonisers should take bulk connections. More overhead tanks will be built under AMRUT for uninterrupted water supply.”
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