Two new underground water reservoirs of 5,000 kilo litres are set to be constructed at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore.
Picture used for representative purpose only
With a view to bring relief to residents of Indirapuram from the scanty supply of Ganga jal, Ghaziabad Development Authority has planned to upgrade the water storage capacity of its underground water reservoirs (UGR) in the township.
The new additions to the already existing capacity include construction of two new UGRs of 5,000 kilo litres each; one in Ahinsa Khand II and the other in Gyan Khand II. The estimated cost for setting up of the two UGRs is around Rs 3.5 crore.
Due to insufficient supply, Indirapuram’s population of over 1.5 lakh is largely dependent on ground water for its daily needs. “Over the years it has been felt that there is an urgent need to increase water storage capacity of its [Indirapuram] reservoirs due to growing population. Hence, there is a need to build at least two UGRs in the township,” said Chakresh Jain, executive engineer, GDA.
Jain also said that the GDA was planning to install four water pumps in Abhay Khand, Gyan Khand, Niti Khand and Shakti Khand to ensure sufficient supply in all the areas.
The township currently has four UGRs with a combined water storage capacity of 36,000 kilo liters and eight over-head tanks with combined storage capacity of 24,000 kilo liters. Despite this, residents from Abhay Khand, Gyan Khand, Shakti Khand and Ahinsa Khand, among other areas, have been regularly complaining of water shortage.
"We are also looking at another reason that has led to the water scarcity in the township. Insufficient supply from Jal Nigam, which is supposed to supply 22.5 cusec Ganga jal water from its Pratap Vihar Ganga Jal plants daily, is also a cause of the shortage. The current daily supply is much below the sanctioned requirement,” Jain said. Moreover, Jain maintained that the water meters of the Jal Nigam were defunct due to which the overall supply could not be measured. “In case of full supply, the duration of daily supply to consumers can also be increased,” Jain said.
Meanwhile, the declaration by GDA has come as a relief to residents of Indirapuram’s high- rises who were recently shocked by an NGT order barring the extraction of ground water. Alok Kumar, a resident of Ahinsa Khand II and the patron of FedAOA, is of the view that residents have been hearing such promises since last one year but the promises have not materialized yet.
“We had complained on several occasions to the GDA that Ganga jal water supply is just not enough to meet our water requirements. Till now, we somehow managed because of the bore-wells that were dug up in societies,” said Kumar. He maintained that the GDA’s decision of constructing UGRs has definitely come as a respite for residents and they should be constructed as soon as possible.
