Kolkata’s water crisis is unlikely to ease unless the Palta water treatment plant is shut down completely for about a day to repair a breach in the 72-inch steel pipeline near Tala, according to engineers and officials in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s water supply department.
The civic body has been diverting water through a 48-inch pipeline after the breach disrupted the main supply network serving large parts of north and central Kolkata. Officials told the Times of India that the temporary arrangement has failed to restore normal supply, with the smaller pipeline unable to handle the load carried by the damaged line.
A complete closure of the Palta plant would affect water supply across much of Kolkata, although some pockets in south and south-east Kolkata are expected to remain outside the worst impact. The KMC had initially hesitated to take the step because of the scale of disruption that a full shutdown could cause.
Several neighbourhoods that usually do not face prolonged shortages are now reporting erratic or absent supply. Bagbazar, Kumartuli, Shyampukur, Ahiritola, Belgachhia, Maniktala, Kankurgachhi, Bidhan Sarani, Vivekananda Road and College Street are among the areas identified as being badly affected.
The disruption has begun to affect routine household activities. Sudip Karmakar, a retired government official living in Kumartuli, told the newspaper that he had been forced to buy water for five days. “How long will they take as water supply is essential service and none can do without it?” he said.
Residents in other affected areas have also reported rising dependence on purchased water. Suchitra Bose, a school teacher living on Bidhan Sarani, said she had stopped cooking at home and was buying packaged drinking water. She also said she had decided to order food from outside until normal supply was restored.
KMC officials acknowledged that water tankers could not meet demand across the affected belt. The available fleet is insufficient to serve lakhs of residents spread across 10 to 12 wards, leaving the civic body reliant on a temporary pipeline arrangement that engineers say cannot provide an adequate substitute for the main network.
Engineers now believe the breach must be repaired at its source. According to the department officials quoted by the Times of India, workers need safe access to the damaged section near Tala, which requires stopping the flow from Palta. The timing and duration of the proposed full-day shutdown have not been specified in the supplied report.
